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relatedveilvigilantesvigilantismvirginia foxxweb photo rowwedding shootingwestern intelligencewheel of justicewhistleblowerswomen's issuesworkers' rightsworkplace discriminationworshipyogayoung womendrive-by planethttp://www.drivebyplanet.com/noreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)Blogger1240125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-6512600557762807295Thu, 11 Dec 2014 07:46:00 +00002014-12-11T10:24:08.685-08:00Angela MerkelDie LinkegeopoliticsGermanyNazisPoroshenkoSahra WagenknechtUnited StatesYatsenyukDie Linke's Sahra Wagenknecht slams Merkel in Bundestag for being US stooge [video]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RXUAQvTj_pA/VIk_Bm7v2KI/AAAAAAAAJyA/UKeYSpuOoHQ/s1600/Sahra-Wagenknecht-Merkel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sarah Wagenknecht speech in Bundenstag targets Merkel" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RXUAQvTj_pA/VIk_Bm7v2KI/AAAAAAAAJyA/UKeYSpuOoHQ/s1600/Sahra-Wagenknecht-Merkel.jpg" title="Sahra Wagenknecht criticizes Angela Merkel policies in Bundestag" /></a></div><br />In a powerful Bundestag speech, Deputy Chair of the German <a href="http://en.die-linke.de/die-linke/welcome/">Die Linke</a> (Left Party), <a href="http://www.sahra-wagenknecht.de/en/">Sahra Wagenknecht</a>, accused Angela Merkel of being an enabler of US interests, to the detriment of Germany and the EU.<br /><br />Wagenknecht called into question Merkel's position on "spheres of influence" and international law, citing numerous instances in the course of which Merkel's great ally the United States has trampled over international law... Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya... to name a few.<br /><br />The indented excerpts beneath are from Wagenknecht's speech. They are taken from the English translation that accompanies the video. <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><br />In your speech in Sydney Ms Merkel you are terribly outraged by the fact that 25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall there continues to exist an old way of thinking of "spheres of influence" which tramples on international law... That begs the question: "Mrs Merkel, where on earth do you live? And where have you been living for the past 25 years? Where were you when the United States trampled international law in Iraq, to expand its sphere of influence over Iraqi oil? Where were you, when with Germany's participation international law in Afghanistan was and is being trampled? Where were you when Libya was bombed... when the Syrian opposition was armed and affiliated with ISIS after weapons deliveries? Was all that in your opinion, in accordance with international law?"</blockquote><br />Wagenknecht made direct reference to <a href="http://original.antiwar.com/Chris_Ernesto/2014/03/14/brzezinski-mapped-out-the-battle-for-ukraine-in-1997/">Zbigniew Brzezinski's book</a> <i>The Grand Chessboard: the primacy of America and its Geostrategic Imperatives</i> which she characterized as an old way of thinking about spheres of influence. She accused Merkel of being an instrument for the furtherment of these US-driven geostrategic designs.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">With regard to Europe, Brzezinski argues for a decisive NATO expansion eastward: first in Central Europe, then in the South, then in the Baltic States and, finally, in the Ukraine. Because as the author [Brzezinski] convincingly justifies: "every step of expansion automatically expands the immediate sphere of influence of the United States." This is an old way of thinking in terms of "spheres of influence" which was very successfully implemented, and you really, never, ever noticed it Mrs Merkel? On the contrary, you belonged to those who further implemented and supported that in Europe! You were just one of the "vassals" to use Brzezinski's words, which endorsed this strategy.<br /><br />Mrs Merkel, now you've driven Germany to a renewed "Cold War" with Russia, poisoned the political climate and jeopardized peace in Europe. You have instigated a senseless economic war, which massively harms primarily the German and European economy. You are warning us of fire, Mrs Merkel, but you are one of those who are running around with lighted matches.</blockquote><br />On Ukraine, Wagenknecht made explicit reference to the <a href="http://ukraineantifascistsolidarity.wordpress.com/2014/11/03/patriot-of-ukraine-neo-nazi-militant-appointed-as-kiev-head-of-police/">Nazi presence</a> in Kiev's police and security apparatus and pointed to the <a href="http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/07/ethnic-cleansing-in-east-ukraine-toll.html">brutal policies</a> directed at the pro-Russian people of eastern Ukraine.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><br />In Ukraine you cooperate with a regime, in which the important functions of the police and security services are occupied by recognized Nazis! President Poroshenko talks of "total war." He stopped all payments to pensioners and hospitals in eastern Ukraine! And for prime minister Yatsenyuk the insurgents are, quote, "creatures that must be destroyed." Instead of working with these thugs, we finally again need a German foreign policy in which security and peace is more important than the instructions from Washington. </blockquote><br />Video link beneath. <b><span style="font-size: small;">For non-German speakers click "CC" on toolbar to get English subtitles</span>.</b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnHPmcUgfRU" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-76z2xcTTDYo/VIk_YeiaBLI/AAAAAAAAJyI/bfTignUNvwg/s1600/Wagenknecht.jpg" height="178" width="320" /></a></div>http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/12/die-linkes-sahra-wagenknecht-slams.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-7366272376733140131Sat, 06 Dec 2014 07:35:00 +00002015-05-07T06:03:41.833-07:00CanadaCanadian governmentCanadian militaryjihadmental illnessMiddle EastOttawaRCMPStephen HarperterrorismRCMP backtracking on release of video by Ottawa shooter Zehaf-Bibeau reeks of political influence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8JOFuwxlph8/VIOrApl0FoI/AAAAAAAAJtw/VSMzICj8jcM/s1600/zehaf-bibeau-tape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="RCMP - Zehaf-Bibeau video" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8JOFuwxlph8/VIOrApl0FoI/AAAAAAAAJtw/VSMzICj8jcM/s1600/zehaf-bibeau-tape.jpg" title="Bob Paulson - Zehaf-Bibeau video" /></a></div><br />After we were told the video made by <a href="http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/10/terrorism-threat-hyped-to-fuel-harper.html">Ottawa shooter Michael Zehaf-Bibeau</a> would be made available to the public, the RCMP has changed its mind, or had it changed for them. RCMP commissioner Bob Paulson wasn't exactly clear on the specifics. He said there may be a release of "some aspects of a transcript of the video"... whatever that means. <br /><br />Given the terrorist narrative favored by the government and also by the police, how can the public be sure that 'aspects of the transcript' aren't cherry picked to reenforce the preferred narrative. Surely the honest and transparent thing to do would be to release the video for the public to make its own judgment or alternatively release the entire transcript, rather than "aspects" of it. If as some claim, there are concerns about the video being exploited in some way for jihadi propaganda, the odds of that happening would be diminished considerably if a transcript was involved - cop out though that would still be - because there is no compelling reason to sit on the video. <br /><br />There are any number of jihad-inspired videos in circulation that glorify jihad and attack the West... lots of audio-visual incentive out there for anyone influenced by such material. The release of Zehaf-Bibeau's video - assuming it contains any such content - would not likely make a substantial difference one way or another.<br /><br />In giving reasons for withholding the video, Paulson also made vague allusions to "some sort of court process." But given what we know this doesn't add up. Zehaf-Bibeau is dead and there were no known accomplices. <br /><br />The decision to withhold the video seems to be more about political calculations. Perhaps Harper is concerned that the video's contents might in some way influence public opinion about Canada's involvement in the US-led war in the Middle East... part of the government's deeply misguided foreign policy <a href="http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/899.php">agenda</a>.<br /><br />There has been some debate in parliament about whether or not the term "terrorism" should be used in describing Zehaf-Bibeau's actions. But from the outset it was clear that the government was dead set on labeling it a "terrorist attack" despite information about Zehaf-Bibeau's past that indicate mental and emotional problems were a likely trigger. <br /><br />Zehaf-Bibeau's mother, Susan Bibeau, who presumably knew her son better than most, denied that he was a terrorist acting "on behalf of some grand ideology or for a political motive." She said he felt "cornered" and "acted&nbsp; in despair." She is also skeptical of the radicalization theory and said she believes "<a href="http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2014/10/25/Enemy_Is_Neglect_Of_Mental_Ilness/">mental illness is at the center of this tragedy</a>."<br /><br />According to a recent poll Susan Bibeau's view is shared by a high percentage of Canadians ... while 36% describe the shooting as a "terrorist attack" 38% believe mental illness played a part in it.<br /><br />Although the Harper government has been careful not to appear to be chaffing at the bit to beef up enforcement powers in the wake of the attack... given the reactionary right-wing nature of this government you can be sure it wants to <a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/10/24/cana-o24.html">extract as much mileage</a> as possible from the incident. The wheels are apparently in motion.&nbsp; On Monday a Commons committee passed <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/csis-powers-beefed-up-under-new-bill-tabled-by-steven-blaney-1.2814314">Bill C-44</a> that hands additional powers to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). According to Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney, another bill is in the works that will boost law enforcement powers in the areas of surveillance, detention and arrest.<br /><br />In the course of conjecturing out loud when and if the Zehaf-Bibeau video might see the light of day, RCMP chief Paulson wasn't big on specifics...&nbsp; "I don’t know when it’s going to be released. It will certainly be released some day, but I would be a fool to say when it will be released." http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/12/rcmp-backtracking-on-release-of-video.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-7922336993605099655Sat, 06 Dec 2014 07:29:00 +00002015-03-05T23:18:57.443-08:00Eastern Europegeopolitical tensionsNATONoam Chomskynuclear warUkraineUnited StatesVladimir PutinRisk of 'accidental' nuclear war: Chomsky on the 'worst case scenario'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xV1nRyZ-7Vc/VF_iKXS0OxI/AAAAAAAAJgs/R8wi8oVhgKY/s1600/noam-chomsky-nuclear-war.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Chomsky on the threat of nuclear war" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xV1nRyZ-7Vc/VF_iKXS0OxI/AAAAAAAAJgs/R8wi8oVhgKY/s1600/noam-chomsky-nuclear-war.jpg" title="Noam Chomsky - nuclear war dangers" /></a></div><br />It's hard to imagine a scenario in which any world power would deliberately start a nuclear war given the dire consequence for the planet. Rational thinking and the will to survive prevents us from believing that any nation... any leader... could be crazy enough to intentionally unleash what could wind up being a terminal war of reciprocal destruction. But what is often overlooked is the increasing likelihood that a nuclear war might well be started by accident.<br /><br />During <a href="http://rt.com/shows/sophieco/202967-cold-nuclear-war-nato/">a recent RT interview</a> <a href="http://www.chomsky.info/">Noam Chomsky</a> addressed this possibility:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The worst-case scenario, of course, would be a nuclear war, which would be terrible. Both states that initiate it will be wiped out by the consequences. That’s the worst-case. And it’s come ominously close several times in the past, dramatically close. And it could happen again, but not planned, but just by the accidental interactions that take place - that has almost happened. It’s worth remembering that just one century ago, the First World War broke out through a series of such accidental interchanges. The First World War was horrifying enough, but the current reenactment of it means the end of the human race.</blockquote><br />Chomsky's reference to a nuclear war begun 'by accident' makes sense when you look at how this might come about. An escalation factor might be faulty intelligence, leading for example to a mistaken belief that the other side is planning an imminent nuclear strike. The decision may then be taken to use tactical nuclear weapons in order to seize first-strike advantage. Underlying intelligence failure of this sort could be a more general strategic misreading of the enemies' intent and other communications failures that fuel a pattern of escalation.<br /><br /><a href="http://csis.org/files/media/csis/events/080110_grand_strategy.pdf">A report</a> entitled <i>Towards a Grand Strategy for an Uncertain World: Renewing Transatlantic Partnership</i> lays out a new vision for the NATO alliance. It contains a number of statements that confirm the importance of nuclear weapons "in the quiver of escalation"... ostensibly to prevent "existential dangers." But in fact their use is also clearly about maintaining a winning edge however couched in the language of prevention, as this statement from the report suggests:&nbsp; "What is needed is a policy of deterrence by proactive denial, in which preemption is a form of reaction when a threat is imminent, and prevention is the attempt to regain the initiative in order to end the conflict." Tactical nuclear weapons are very much a part of any so-called "proportional" response. This scenario opens the door for all kinds of potential disaster.<br /><br />Tactical or non-strategic nuclear weapons are now part of the toolkit of the world's major militaries. These weapons can be calibrated to suit the challenges on hand. Variable yield allows operators to set the weapons' explosive power in consideration of target and conditions. Small-yield tactical nukes might encourage preemptive strikes especially if a conventional force is facing defeat. They may be used in other ways to seize the advantage. Under war conditions the step from tactical to strategic nuclear weapons might not be such a huge leap, especially on the part of a military staring down the barrel of defeat.<br /><br />Bottom line, our continued use of these weapons raises the ante when it comes to the prospects of large scale nuclear war. Chomsky sums up the stark choice we face in this paragraph:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">We can think back as far as 1955, when Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein produced an appeal, a joint appeal to the people of the world, in which they said to all of us, you have a choice that is stark, unavoidable, the question is, will you eliminate war or will you eliminate human race? These are your choices. </blockquote><br />Right now we are making bad choices. The provocations of the West in Eastern Europe and the expansion of NATO's reach to the borders of Russia is fraught with risks that can't be taken lightly. Chomsky rightly characterizes NATO as a "US-run intervention force." <br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The official mission of NATO became to control the international, the global energy system, pipelines. That means, to control the world. Of course, its [a] U.S.-run intervention force, as in Kosovo and Serbia in 1999 – it was a U.S.-run intervention force. That’s the new NATO and it did expand to Russian borders...</blockquote><br />The demonization of Russia in Western media and the toxic cold war-like environment that is being whipped up is driven by geopolitical ambitions, energy and resource considerations and a very particular animus toward a major global power that is unwilling to alter its long held values and traditions. This offends some people, who over and above the larger geopolitical considerations, appear willing to risk heightening an already tense situation in the course of pressing a Western-centric rights agenda.http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/11/risk-of-accidental-nuclear-war-chomsky.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-4806446518657446372Fri, 05 Dec 2014 20:20:00 +00002015-05-07T06:02:31.892-07:00CARTOON STRIP - 'Cut Outs'Eastern EuropeNATOnuclear warnuclear weaponsDangerous logic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yOjPOpcycXE/VUthvT2fIyI/AAAAAAAAJ1M/rPioapzUPsc/s1600/nato-meet-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="saving the world for democracy" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yOjPOpcycXE/VUthvT2fIyI/AAAAAAAAJ1M/rPioapzUPsc/s1600/nato-meet-2.jpg" title="NATO-OTAN meet" /></a></div><br />http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/11/dangerous-logic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-3118609533523856735Fri, 05 Dec 2014 12:16:00 +00002014-12-11T23:16:25.238-08:00Amnesty Internationalcyber securitymalwarespywaresurveillanceNew free security tool Detekt scans for hard-to-find surveillance spyware: just launched by Amnesty, EFF<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YjQX-ho6PBw/VG3WViZqMqI/AAAAAAAAJj8/rwo0hg2LOGk/s1600/detekt-malware-%2Btool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="anti-malware Detekt released by Amnesty and EFF" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YjQX-ho6PBw/VG3WViZqMqI/AAAAAAAAJj8/rwo0hg2LOGk/s1600/detekt-malware-%2Btool.jpg" title="Detekt anti-malware software released by Amnesty, EFF..." /></a></div><br />Activists, journalists or just the average concerned citizen who want to know if their computers and mobile devices are a target of unwanted surveillance now have access to a badly needed resource. A German security researcher named Claudio Guarnieri is behind a free new security tool named Detekt. It scans PCs and mobile devices for traces of surveillance spyware that everyday anti-malware programs are likely to miss.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-11/20/amnesty-free-surveillance-seeking-software">According to Wired</a> Guarnieri works with <a href="http://www.honeynet.org/">The Honeypot Project</a> and <a href="http://shadowserver.org/wiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage">Shadowserver Foundation</a> developing open source tools.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/detekt-new-tool-against-government-surveillance-questions-and-answers-2014-11-20">Amnesty news describes</a> what Detekt is and how it works:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Detekt is a free tool that scans your computer for traces of known surveillance spyware used by governments to target and monitor human rights defenders and journalists around the world. By alerting them to the fact that they are being spied on, they will have the opportunity to take precautions.<br /><br />It was developed by security researchers and has been used to assist in Citizen Lab's investigations into government use of spyware against human rights defenders, journalists and activists as well as by security trainers to educate on the nature of targeted surveillance.<br /><br />Amnesty International is partnering with Privacy International, Digitale Gesellschaft and the Electronic Frontier Foundation to release Detekt to the public for the first time.</blockquote><br />The release of Detekt is certainly timely given the growing number of cyber threats. As <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/18/private-firms-mass-surveillance-technologies">this Guardian article</a> reports the trade in surveillance technologies has shown massive growth over recent years. Surveillance software is being sold to governments and agencies that have no scruples about exploiting it in order to spy on PCs, email, text messages and phone calls of people on their watch list.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-11/20/amnesty-free-surveillance-seeking-software">Wired UK</a> quotes Marek Marczynski, head of security at Amnesty who had this to say about Detekt and the need for such a tool: "Governments are increasingly using dangerous and sophisticated technology that allows them to read activists and journalists' private emails and remotely turn on their computer's camera or microphone to secretly record their activities... Detekt is a simple tool that will alert activists to such intrusions so they can take action."<br /><br />Detekt developer Claudio Guarnieri was part of a team that discovered that <a href="http://mashable.com/2014/09/15/wikileaks-finfisher-customers-surveillance/">FinFisher surveillance spyware</a> was showing up on the computers of government and law enforcement agencies worldwide. FinFisher command and control centers have been found in some 35 countries. Recently Wikileaks <a href="https://wikileaks.org/spyfiles4/">released copies of FinFisher software</a> in order to further the effort of tech researchers in coming up with counter measures. <br /><br />When it comes to comparisons between Detekt and commercial security software, Guarnieri is quoted in media reports saying: "Antivirus software is rigorously evaded every time this kind of spyware is released and used. We are using detection techniques that have proved to be successful up to this point, and the goal is to provide it to the public and have the quickest and largest adoption possible."<br /><br />He went on to say: "I want to empower just about anyone, the ones that do not have resources to acquire noisy and intrusive security software and the ones that are perhaps even prevented from buying any due to economic embargoes... I'm not really interested in drawing a comparison with security vendors, they have a different audience and a different scope. I'm interested in empowering the people with a choice to opt out from surveillance. What companies are doing for profit does not interest me."<br /><br />Amnesty International, Digitale Gesellschaft, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Privacy International are working together to get Detekt out to their networks. <br /><br />If you would like to download the software and give it a try you can do so from <a href="http://resistsurveillance.org/">resistsurveillance.org</a>. When running Detekt disconnect from the internet and run the program as administrator. http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/11/new-free-security-tool-detekt-scans-for.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-6012893299062519861Thu, 04 Dec 2014 02:32:00 +00002015-01-24T04:20:39.461-08:00BanksyBethlehemevangelicalshuman rightsIsraelJesusLeila KhalidoccupationPalestiniansWest Bank wallAtlanta billboard features Banksy's mural of West Bank wall: 'Christ at the Checkpoint' conference<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D8sk5yXPqMk/VH-s3ssxegI/AAAAAAAAJq0/Py6jXmmVZRQ/s1600/billboard2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="West Bank Wall and holy family in Atlanta Banksy billboard" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D8sk5yXPqMk/VH-s3ssxegI/AAAAAAAAJq0/Py6jXmmVZRQ/s1600/billboard2.jpg" title="Atlanta 'Banksy' billboard showing West Bank wall" /></a></div><br />This is a two-part post dealing with resistance to the Israeli occupation. The common thread is Christian-related... in one case billboard art with a controversial slant on the the nativity story and in another the growing evangelical resistance to Israeli occupation.<br /><br />Thanks to <a href="http://ifamericansknew.org/">ifAmericansknew.org</a>, a billboard in Atlanta is host to the artwork of British mural artist Banksy. It shows Joseph and Mary enroute to Bethlehem, but in this nativity tale the path they are on leads directly to the West Bank wall. In a realistic touch, the rendering of the wall includes a watchtower and graffiti. The disturbing juxtaposition of the Christian nativity story with draconian Israeli security, is underscored by the ironic inscription "O little town of Bethlehem." <br /><br />Bethlehem today is a far cry from the biblical version revisited in Christmas pageants. The present day version is ringed with security, not unlike a barricaded fortress.<br /><br />The motivation behind bringing issues such as the Israeli occupation to the attention of the American public is addressed <a href="http://www.ifamericansknew.org/about_us/">on the website</a> of ifAmericansknew.org:&nbsp; <br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The mission of If Americans Knew is to inform and educate the American public on issues of major significance that are unreported, underreported, or misreported in the American media. <br /><br />It is our belief that when Americans know the facts on a subject, they will, in the final analysis, act in accordance with morality, justice, and the best interests of their nation, and of the world. With insufficient information, or distorted information, they may do the precise opposite.</blockquote><br />On ifAmericanslknew.org there is also <a href="http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/bethlehem.html">this commentary</a> about the brutal political and social realities underlying the Banksy mural.<br /><br />Security structures, even Israeli ones, can't suppress creativity. The West Bank wall features some impressive artwork. Along with spontaneous graffiti there are murals with themes of resistance... for example this mural of the famous Palestinian freedom fighter <a href="http://972mag.com/interview-with-leila-khaled-bds-is-effective-but-it-doesnt-liberate-land/91000/">Leila Khalid</a>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A8n-k2eAjiE/VH-tAD43osI/AAAAAAAAJq8/n0KNaaAlIzs/s1600/leila%2Bkhaled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Leila Khalid Palestinain resistance" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A8n-k2eAjiE/VH-tAD43osI/AAAAAAAAJq8/n0KNaaAlIzs/s1600/leila%2Bkhaled.jpg" title="Leila Khalid mural on West Bank wall" /></a></div><br /><br />The mural of Joseph and Mary beneath the West Bank wall is just one of a number of murals by Banksy that deal with Palestinian themes. During time spent in Palestine, he produced a number of murals including some on or near the West Bank wall. Beneath are a few examples of his work... view others <a href="http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2008/12/banksy-stencils-in-bethlehem-part-of.html">here</a>.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TjCAXxPbVo8/VH-tIYGmsUI/AAAAAAAAJrE/hd15cWnrNw8/s1600/bansky3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Banksy artwork on West Bank" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TjCAXxPbVo8/VH-tIYGmsUI/AAAAAAAAJrE/hd15cWnrNw8/s1600/bansky3.jpg" height="230" title="Banksy mural on West Bank" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1DSGEV7B2Qw/VH-tOUNU9NI/AAAAAAAAJrM/173AxquUyK8/s1600/banksy7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Banksy mural of girl searching Israeli soldier" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1DSGEV7B2Qw/VH-tOUNU9NI/AAAAAAAAJrM/173AxquUyK8/s1600/banksy7.jpg" height="213" title="Banksy mural in Palestine" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />The Atlanta billboard graphically exposes the brutal reality of Israeli occupation. Although there is no publicly stated connection with evangelical activism, the Christian-themed billboard art appears at a time when many American evangelicals have been openly questioning the unconditional allegiance that their churches have traditionally given to Israel. A number of influential evangelical leaders have been looking more critically at the dehumanizing reality of Israeli occupation, with a number stepping up and expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people. <br /><br />This is a development that hasn't gone unnoticed by Christian Zionist organizations such as Christians United for Israel (CUFI). Its executive director, David Borg, recently made a statement that acknowledges a profound change in the position taken by increasing numbers of evangelicals on the subject of Israel.<br /><br />Borg: "With every passing month, more evidence is emerging that these anti-Israel Christians are succeeding in reaching beyond the evangelical left and are influencing the mainstream. In particular, they are penetrating the evangelical world at its soft underbelly: the millennial generation. These young believers (roughly ages 18 to 30) are rebelling against what they perceive as the excessive biblical literalism and political conservatism of their parents. As they strive with a renewed vigor to imitate Jesus’ stand with the oppressed and downtrodden, they want to decide for themselves which party is being oppressed in the Arab-Israeli conflict."<br /><br />The term "anti-Israel" used by Borg might be considered misleading. Activists I read and likely those also of Christian evangelical persuasion are challenging the system of occupation and systematized oppression that has evolved from a great historical injustice. This is quite different from an anti-Israel position that for example calls for the destruction of the state.<br /><br />In March of this year a 'Christ at the Checkpoint' conference was held by the Bethlehem Bible College. It was a 5-day event and <a href="http://electronicintifada.net/content/palestinian-christians-attacked-challenging-christian-zionism/11049">as Electronic Intifada reported</a>: "... attracted major speakers both from within the Palestinian Christian community as well as international evangelicals, including Tony Campolo, Gary Burge, Stephen Sizer, John Ortberg and Shane Claiborne. Messianic Jewish speakers were also invited."<br /><br />More about the goals of the conference <a href="http://www.christatthecheckpoint.com/index.php/about-us/conference-goals">here</a>. There is also this <a href="http://972mag.com/photos-christ-at-the-checkpoint-challenges-christian-zionism/88571/">in-depth article</a> about the conference posted on the Israeli news website 972 Mag.<br /><br />The Bethlehem conference raised considerable alarm <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.579595">in Israeli media</a> and government circles. The prospect of one of Israel's most supportive constituencies - evangelical Christians -&nbsp; showing signs of identifying with the Palestinians has sparked some vitriolic criticism. A number of Israeli media outlets accused the Bethlehem conference of being 'anti-Semitic.' An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said: "The attempt to use religious motifs in order to mobilize political propaganda and agitate the feelings of the faithful through the manipulation of religion and politics is an unacceptable and shameful act. Using religion for the purpose of incitement in the service of political interests stains the person who does it with a stain of indelible infamy." <br /><br />The increasingly <a href="http://original.antiwar.com/avnery/2014/12/05/the-israeli-plebiscite/">reactionary, racist</a> and militaristic Israeli state presents a moral dilemma - and not only for evangelical Christians. Religious Jews, particularly of the Orthodox persuasion, understand that tying their identity to Israel involves compromise... a compromise many aren't prepared to make. <br /><br />The impact of Zionism on Jewish identity is powerfully addressed by Yakov M. Rabkin - Professor of History at the University of Montreal - in his book <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Threat-Within-History-Opposition-Zionism/dp/1842776991"><i>Threat Within: A Century of Jewish Opposition to Zionism</i></a>.<br /><br />In this passage Rabkin describes the impact of Zionism on pure Torah-based Judaism:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Worse than the toll of suffering, exploitation, death, and desecration of the Torah, has been the inner rot that Zionism has injected into the Jewish soul. It has dug deep into the essence of being a Jew ... It has wreaked havoc among Jews both in Israel and America, by casting us in the role of Goliath-like oppressors. It has made cruelty and corruption the norm for its followers.</blockquote>http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/12/atlanta-billboard-features-banksys.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-7709868488497382676Wed, 26 Nov 2014 13:28:00 +00002014-12-11T09:26:23.795-08:00cyber spyingEUmalwareMicrosoftReginsurveillanceSymantecwestern intelligenceSophisticated malware 'Regin': Western intelligence suspected source of spy tool<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_wydmW4v1Uw/VHXM4O1I9oI/AAAAAAAAJnA/vBX_GsyX-6o/s1600/regin-spy-tool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Regin malware warning by Symantec" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_wydmW4v1Uw/VHXM4O1I9oI/AAAAAAAAJnA/vBX_GsyX-6o/s1600/regin-spy-tool.jpg" title="Regin malware suspected from western intelligence" /></a></div><br />Symantec recently reported on an advanced malware tool known as Regin or Backdoor.Regin that has&nbsp; been showing up around the globe. <a href="http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/regin-top-tier-espionage-tool-enables-stealthy-surveillance">A post</a> that appeared on the company's blog on Sunday described Regin as&nbsp; “An advanced spying tool [that] displays a degree of technical competence rarely seen and has been used in spying operations against governments, infrastructure operators, businesses, researchers, and private individuals.” <br /><br />According to Symantec, capabilities include capturing screenshots, stealing passwords, taking control of the mouse’s point-and-click function, monitoring network traffic and gathering information on processes and memory use. It can also search for and retrieve deleted files.<br /><br />This malware has been around since 2008, prompting at least one insider to question why Symantec has waited until now to make "a big deal about this." Part of the reason may be the design of the tool, making it "highly suitable for persistent, long-term surveillance operations" and the fact that it was withdrawn in 2011 but resurfaced again from 2013 onward.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/regin-computer-spying-malware-has-stealth-features-symantec-says-1.2846765">This report</a> provides a few details on how the spy tool functions:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Symantec described the malware as having five stages, each "hidden and encrypted, with the exception of the first stage." It said "each individual stage provides little information on the complete package. Only by acquiring all five stages is it possible to analyze and understand the threat."<br /><br />Regin also uses what is called a modular approach that allows it to load custom features tailored to targets, the same method applied in other malware, such as Flamer and Weevil (The Mask), the antivirus company said. Some of its features were also similar to Duqu malware, uncovered in September 2011 and related to a computer worm called Stuxnet, discovered the previous year.</blockquote><br />As you may recall a Stuxnet worm was <a href="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/07/how-digital-detectives-deciphered-stuxnet-the-most-menacing-malware-in-history/">used to damage</a> Iran's nuclear centrifuges not so long ago in an effort to hamper nuclear developments in that country. Unlike Stuxnet that is designed to cause serious damage, Regin has the capability of carrying out extensive data-theft while masking as Microsoft software. It is also highly customizable, depending on the requirements of the operation.<br /><br />There is also the question of where Regin originated. It seems very likely it was developed by Western intelligence. A number of clues point in that direction. For example none of the Regin attacks have been directed at US or Canadian targets. Countries most heavily impacted by the malware hold varying degrees of interest for American/allied intelligence... Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Russian Federation, Iran. <br /><br />The two countries most targeted are Saudi Arabia (24%) and Russia (28%). Ireland with a surprising 9% share of the infection pie seems at first glance a bit of an anomaly, however as <a href="http://www.extremetech.com/computing/194819-new-regin-malware-is-an-incredibly-sophisticated-spy-tool-possibly-developed-by-the-us-government">an article in Extremetech</a> notes "... many corporations have taken advantage of low corporate taxes there [Ireland] to shed global tax burdens and reduce exposure" - so doubtless making it a target for this type of operation.<br /><br />Regin targets:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m3PC5X8CjGc/VHXR1jT3KYI/AAAAAAAAJnU/1gZrRloJFts/s1600/Regin-targets.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m3PC5X8CjGc/VHXR1jT3KYI/AAAAAAAAJnU/1gZrRloJFts/s1600/Regin-targets.PNG" height="285" width="320" /></a></div>Regin by country:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4cmYM9-RacI/VHXR91qUgMI/AAAAAAAAJnc/3EZkMkjXTfE/s1600/regin_locations.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4cmYM9-RacI/VHXR91qUgMI/AAAAAAAAJnc/3EZkMkjXTfE/s1600/regin_locations.png" height="280" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K_kQCHBb6XM/VHXRINlXtXI/AAAAAAAAJnM/q1aTR0wArHM/s1600/Regin-targets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>Other industry insiders seem pretty sure where the malware originated. <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/11/25/military-grade-malware-linked-us-and-british-intelligence-agencies">A post on Common Dreams</a> notes that "Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure, told Fox-Brewster that his firm does not believe Regin was made by Russia or China, "the usual suspects." According to Fox-Brewster, this leaves the U.S., U.K. or Israel as the "most likely candidates," an assumption that Symantec threat researcher Candid Wueest said was "probable." "<br /><br />A post on The Intercept identifies the owners of the cyberprints behind a number of European operations. The authors of - <i>Secret malware in European Union attack linked to U.S. and British intelligence</i> - leave no doubt who was behind sophisticated Regin-cyber-attacks that went after European Union targets and a Belgian telecommunications company.<br /><br />Intercept:&nbsp; <br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Regin was found on infected internal computer systems and email servers at Belgacom, a partly state-owned Belgian phone and internet provider, following reports last year that the company was targeted in a top-secret surveillance operation carried out by British spy agency Government<br /><br />Communications Headquarters, industry sources told The Intercept.<br />The malware, which steals data from infected systems and disguises itself as legitimate Microsoft software, has also been identified on the same European Union computer systems that were targeted for surveillance by the National Security Agency.</blockquote><br />Read the full Intercept story - <a href="https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/11/24/secret-regin-malware-belgacom-nsa-gchq/">here</a>.http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/11/sophisticated-malware-regin-western.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-792985910321094076Mon, 24 Nov 2014 01:08:00 +00002014-12-02T09:16:03.935-08:00Cottbus Film FestivalDonbasEastern EuropeGermanyKievMaidanoligarchsPoroshenkoUkraineSome Ukrainian films at Cottbus 24 festival convey 'a thoroughly dishonest presentation of conditions in the east'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UDuRGL7fOJc/VHMXr_Du4nI/AAAAAAAAJmw/bY33SpqUDsM/s1600/cottbus-24-films.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Ukrainian films at Cottbus film festival" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UDuRGL7fOJc/VHMXr_Du4nI/AAAAAAAAJmw/bY33SpqUDsM/s1600/cottbus-24-films.png" title="Cottbus Film Festival - Ukrainian films" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/11/20/east-n20.html">An article</a> on World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) entitled <i>Distortion and dishonesty: Ukrainian films at the Cottbus Film Festival</i>, critiques some of the Ukrainian films that made it to screen at this year's <a href="http://www.filmfestivalcottbus.de/en/home/newsID=863">festival in Cottbus</a>. This is a city 125 kms southeast of Berlin, close to the border with Poland. <br /><br />Before addressing the films he chose to critique, writer Stefan Steinberg takes the time at the beginning of the article to include an overview of conditions in Eastern Europe. He notes that while some of the films provide "insight, albeit limited, into the problems of the region" others convey a "thoroughly dishonest presentation of conditions in the east."<br /><br />Steinberg's take on the situation in Eastern Europe addresses a reality that is rarely discussed in any depth on MSM, in part because it is a reality that demonstrates the failure of the capitalist free market on a number of key levels.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><br />Across Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the former Soviet Union, tens of millions face social ruin following 25 years of the restored capitalist free market. Unemployment is rampant and the social welfare systems that existed under the former Stalinist regimes have been smashed up. This process was already well advanced six years ago, but has accelerated since the financial crash of 2008. The result has been the rapid spread of poverty among young and old. The political structures across the region are dominated by corrupt elites drawn from the former Stalinist bureaucracies, combined with a layer of nouveau riche who have plundered state property and enriched themselves fantastically.<br /><br />The rapid increase of social inequality across the region, a corresponding turn towards authoritarian forms of government and officially orchestrated campaigns of nationalism have been triggered and exacerbated by the policies of the European Union (EU), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and global banks, which demand unceasing rounds of austerity in order to fill the treasuries of the banks and the pockets of the super-rich. </blockquote><br />Close to a year after the Washington-backed coup in Kiev - characterized by Western media as a people's "revolution" - the <a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/10/30/ukec-o30.html">Ukrainian economy is in ruins</a>. Ukraine faces the possibility of economic collapse. The value of the national currency has plummeted resulting in a drop in the real value of salaries. Investors have been bailing out as industrial output slows. <br /><br />Given the hardship faced by millions of working people across Eastern Europe... an observer might reasonably assume that the most pressing focus should be on the deep seated problems plaguing the east. This is especially the case given current developments in the Donbas region that could spiral into a war capable of impacting not only the entire region, but the world. However in addition to films that present a distorted, one-sided view of recent events in Ukraine, the festival gave a high profile to identity politics. Steinberg notes that one of the event's central sections addressed what the program described as "homosexual life worlds." He says:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">There can be no doubt that gays and lesbians face considerable discrimination in many eastern European countries where the church and nationalist, homophobic groups play a significant role in political life. But the prioritisation of gay rights in the current situation sends a definite signal. In particular, it creates a platform for parties such as the Greens and various pseudo-left organisations working together with selected NGOs to elevate identity politics above social issues.<br /><br />In large part, the middle class forces leading campaigns for gay rights are indifferent to, or indeed hostile to, the economic and social needs of broad layers of the working population. That is certainly the case with the German Green Party, which has been very active in the advancement of a “gay and lesbian agenda” in Eastern Europe while advocating the EU- and IMF-dictated austerity programs for the very same countries. </blockquote><br />The article includes critiques of some of the films featured at Cottbus 24. These include <a href="http://www.filmfestivalcottbus.de/en/program/program/pgm_id=1507&amp;film_id=1205&amp;seite=5">Once Upon a Time in Ukraine</a> directed by Igor Parfenov, that weaves real events on the Maidan into a fictional plot. Steinberg points to a "dishonest feature" of the film... the lack of mention of the paramilitary role played by fascist and ultra-nationalist forces during the Maidan demonstrations - forces linked to Svoboda and Pravy Sektor. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.filmfestivalcottbus.de/en/program/program/pgm_id=1513&amp;film_id=1207&amp;seite=6">Almanac #Babylon '13</a> - "Chronicle of Civil Protest " - was made by a consortium of 12 young film makers. In Steinberg's view it&nbsp; "... documents, in a one-sided fashion, the events on Maidan beginning in late November 2013." <br /><br />Another film <a href="http://www.filmfestivalcottbus.de/en/program/program/pgm_id=1519&amp;film_id=1198&amp;seite=9">The Candidate</a> directed by Jonáš Karásek, takes what the author describes as "a scathing look at the political system in Slovakia." <br /><br />For more - link to the WSWS article in full <a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/11/20/east-n20.html">here</a>.http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/11/some-ukrainian-films-at-cottbus-24.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-8994853131291840827Tue, 18 Nov 2014 07:22:00 +00002014-11-18T21:49:26.492-08:00Assad regimefake newspropagandaSyriaSyrian oppositionwarVideo of Syrian boy 'hero' under sniper fire exposed as fake: other Syria-related propaganda<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a8K2A5m1dx8/VGrmULp6afI/AAAAAAAAJjQ/aN6Dh6vN64g/s1600/fake-Syrian-rescue-video.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Fake video stills of Syrian boy 'hero' rescuing young girl" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a8K2A5m1dx8/VGrmULp6afI/AAAAAAAAJjQ/aN6Dh6vN64g/s1600/fake-Syrian-rescue-video.jpg" title="Syrian boy 'hero' rescues girl in hoax video" /></a></div><br />In its <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2829895/Heroic-young-boy-runs-sniper-fire-Syria-pretends-shot-rescuing-terrified-girl-bullets-hit-floor-them.html">coverage of a video</a> that purported to show a Syrian boy braving sniper fire in the course of rescuing a young girl, the Daily Mail lauded the spectacle as an act of heroism. The accompanying article claimed the footage was believed to have been shot in Yabroud, a countryside town 50 miles from Damascus.<br /><br />The Daily Telegraph also published the same story under the title: <i>Watch: Syrian 'hero boy' appears to brave sniper fire to rescue terrified girl in dramatic video</i>.<br /><br />Both the Mail and Telegraph cited dubious claims while providing themselves an out along the lines of 'not verified as yet.' To hear them tell it you would have thought it was real breaking news.<br /><br />The Mail noted that the video quickly got 500,000 views and was republished on YouTube by the Shaam News Network... "sham" being the operative word. The video was in fact an elaborate hoax put together by a Norwegian film crew on the vacation island of Malta. <br /><br />The director, Lars Klevberg, admitted that "The little boy and girl are professional actors from Malta. The voices in the background are Syrian refugees living in Malta."&nbsp; These extras can be heard yelling "Allahu Akbar"(God is Great) on the audio track, as they play act the part of excited onlookers watching a rescue drama unfold before their eyes. <br /><br />Klevberg has attempted to justify the hoax by claiming that he was interested in highlighting the plight of children caught in a war zone. But in common with a lot of the other digital fabrications and outright lies coming from Syrian opposition sources, the underlying purpose is invariably to generate sympathy and/or outrage and with it the hope of increasing the odds of Western military intervention.<br /><br />Stills beneath show Klevberg with the children and the filming of a scene: <br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RhCDfAvrNxA/VGrmjraH9dI/AAAAAAAAJjY/qWJPNDnVbC8/s1600/Capture777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Director Lars Klevburg and child actors in fake film" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RhCDfAvrNxA/VGrmjraH9dI/AAAAAAAAJjY/qWJPNDnVbC8/s1600/Capture777.jpg" height="185" title="Lars Klevberg with Syrian child actors" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Uv-0jkLclns/VGrmo-PNPUI/AAAAAAAAJjg/mE7hfS-EqZg/s1600/Capture1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Syrian boy 'hero' in hoax film still" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Uv-0jkLclns/VGrmo-PNPUI/AAAAAAAAJjg/mE7hfS-EqZg/s1600/Capture1.jpg" height="172" title="Scene from fake video featuring Syrian boy 'hero' under fire" width="320" /></a></div><br />News of the fake video has made Klevberg a target of widespread criticism from a number of different quarters. Journalists and activists signed an open letter condemning the film as "reckless", "irresponsible" and "deceptive." <br /><br />Here is a video that shows a scene being rehearsed followed by a clip of the fake rescue footage:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aLQrVNMPSg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G6InxPVsKCY/VGrpVaj35mI/AAAAAAAAJjs/A1yfD0nYnsk/s1600/Capture555.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />Klevberg isn't the first to spread false news about Syria and won't be the last.<br /><br />Other proven hoaxes concocted by Syrian opposition supporters <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13744980">included the blog</a> - <i>Gay Girl in Damascus.</i> It was allegedly written by one Amina Abdallah Arraf al-Omari, a half-Syrian, half-American lesbian supposedly living in Damascus. "Amina" gave interviews to news organizations and received kudos from journalists and activists around the world. When she was eventually exposed as an invention, we discovered that the real life actor behind the blog was a 40-year old American named Tom MacMaster who was studying at Edinburgh University. <br /><br />Another act that drew international attention was so-called "Syrian Danny" - a British citizen who showed up regularly on CNN to talk with an impressionable Anderson Cooper. During one appearance, Danny is overheard saying "Well let the gunfire sound then," before asking someone off-camera "Did you tell him to get the gunfire ready?" Danny's tales were accompanied by appeals for military intervention by the US and even by Israel. Astute observers noted that the accounts of violence he claimed to have witnessed would change depending on which news network he was talking to. <br /><br />Watch Danny faking it&nbsp; - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-DCZxsrt9I">here</a>.<br /><br />Concerns about such story telling go back a ways. In <a href="http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/5132">a 2012 Al Akhbar article</a> entitled - <i>Hollywood in Homs and Idlib?</i> - Sharmine Narwani addressed false reports perpetuated by elements in the Syrian opposition. She says: <br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">By December, it occurred to me that a big part of the problem was the external-based opposition and their disproportionately loud voices. If you were actually in the business of digging for “verified” information on Syria last year, you would have also quickly copped on to the fact that this wing of the Syrian opposition lies – and lies big.<br /><br />This discovery coincided with a new report by US intelligence analyst Stratfor that claimed: “most of the opposition's more serious claims have turned out to be grossly exaggerated or simply untrue, thereby revealing more about the opposition's weaknesses than the level of instability inside the Syrian regime.”</blockquote><br />Narwani winds up her article with this observation:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Today, reporting from inside Idlib, Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught described the bombing as "earth-shaking and relentless." Bombing caused by who?<br /><br />“Hollywood” in Syria? Oh yes. Scene-setting the likes of which we have not yet seen outside of celluloid fiction. Delivering lines to a rapt audience that seems incapable of questioning the plot. Some of what transpires in Syria in the future will depend on this: Do people want to go behind the velvet curtain and see the strings – or are they content to be simply led by the entertainment.</blockquote>http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/11/video-of-syrian-boy-hero-under-sniper.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-3890028833752834146Fri, 14 Nov 2014 18:17:00 +00002014-11-17T13:55:48.912-08:00BundesnachrichtendienstCIAEdward SnowdenGermany relatedjournalismUdo UlfkotteUS intelligenceWhistleblower Udu Ulfkotte exposes CIA hand in German media: 'German politicians are US puppets'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QNBaCMRcEag/VGZCGqvKoAI/AAAAAAAAJik/_jwJnpJfcoU/s1600/Udo-Ulfkotte-CIA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Udo Ulfkotte reveals CIA manipulation of journalists" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QNBaCMRcEag/VGZCGqvKoAI/AAAAAAAAJik/_jwJnpJfcoU/s1600/Udo-Ulfkotte-CIA.jpg" title="Udo Ulfkotte - CIA and German media" /></a></div><br /><b>"We’re talking about puppets on a string, journalists who write or say whatever their masters tell them to say or write. If you see how the mainstream media is reporting about the Ukraine conflict and if you know what's really going on, you get the picture. The masters in the background are pushing for war with Russia and western journalists are putting on their helmets."</b><br /><br />- From an interview with German journalist Udo Ulfkotte.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kopp-verlag.de/Gekaufte-Journalisten.htm?websale8=kopp-verlag&amp;pi=939100">A new book by Ulfkotte</a> entitled <i>Bought Journalists: How Politicians, Intelligence and High Finance Control Germany's Mass Media </i>has taken the lid off the tactics used by the CIA and other pro-Washington interests to manipulate what journalists say in print. The extent of the corruption, because there really is no other word for it, is surprising, even shocking for anyone with a naive belief in the integrity of Western media.&nbsp; <br /><br />Ulfkotte is a former editor of one of the largest newspapers in Germany - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He was an adviser to the Kohl government between 1986 and 1998, and according to a Wiki entry publishes a magazine - Whistleblower - that reports on topics not covered in German media. His revelations have caused a sensation in Germany, in part because it is rare for a journalist to essentially strip off the mask and reveal insider truths that are damning, to say the least.<br /><br />Ulfkotte claims that members of the German media are paid or otherwise induced by the CIA to spin news in a manner that is favorable to US interests. Over time he admits he himself got in so deep, he "... ended up publishing articles under my own name written by agents of the CIA and other intelligence services, especially the Bundesnachrichtendienst."<br /><br />CIA manipulation of Western media has a long and sordid track record as anyone familiar with the <a href="http://www.carlbernstein.com/magazine_cia_and_media.php">work of Carl Bernstein </a>will be aware. What has changed over the years are the tactics employed by the agency which now adopts a strategy that involves "non-official cover." So while a journalist may be playing along with the CIA, he or she is not connected in any official capacity, leaving the agency free to deny any associations. Ulfkotte goes into the meaning of the term "non-official cover" in his interview.<br /><br />In speaking of the rewards for compliance, Ulfkotte talks about gifts and incentives that went with playing the game:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">I didn’t get money – I got gifts. Things like gold watches, diving equipment, and trips with accommodations in five-star hotels. I know many German journalists who at some point were able to take advantage of this to buy themselves a vacation home abroad. But much more important than the money and gifts is the fact that you’re offered support if you write pieces that are pro-American or pro-NATO. If you don’t do it, your career won’t go anywhere – you’ll find yourself assigned to sit in the office and sort through letters to the editor.</blockquote><br />On a different yet related level Ulfkotte's revelations about CIA influence aren't altogether surprising. The American reach in Germany was highlighted by Edward Snowden when he made the claim that the NSA was <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/nsa-in-bed-with-german-intelligence-says-us-whistleblower-edward-snowden--and-gchq-operates-a-full-take-data-monitoring-system-8693793.html">"in bed" with German intelligence</a>. <br /><br />Ulfkotte is being punished for his book in ways that raise additional questions about the freedom of the press in Germany. During an interview he talked about some of the threats and resistance he ran into as a result of blowing the whistle:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">When I told the Frankfurter Allgemeine that I would publish the book, their lawyers sent me a letter threatening with all legal consequences if I would publish any names or secrets – but I don’t mind. You see, I don’t have children to take care of. And you must know I was severely injured during the gas attack I witnessed in Iran in 1988. I'm the sole German survivor from a German poison gas attack. I’m still suffering from this. I’ve had three heart attacks. I don’t expect to live for more than a few years.<br /><br />No German mainstream journalist is allowed to report about the book. Otherwise he or she will be sacked. So we have a bestseller now that no German journalist is allowed to write or talk about. More shocking: We have respected journalists who seem to have gone deep sea diving for a long time. It’s an Interesting situation. I expected and hoped that they would sue me and bring me to court. But they have no idea what to do. The respected Frankfurter Allgemeine just announced they will fire 200 employees, because they’re losing subscribers very rapidly and in high numbers. But they don’t sue me. They know that I have evidence on everything.</blockquote><br />I'm also posting a video of the Ulfkotte interview. For some reason the audience and/or interviewer's questions have been cut, perhaps to shorten the duration of the video and keep the focus on Ulfkotte. <br /><br />To view the video click 'read more' beneath:<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/yp-Wh77wt1o" width="560"></iframe></center>http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/11/whistleblower-udu-ulfkotte-exposes-cia.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-8952558002046362828Tue, 04 Nov 2014 15:23:00 +00002015-10-18T21:44:18.121-07:00Dutch ReportEastern UkraineMalaysian AirlinesMH-17RussiaSpiegelSukhoi Su-25UkraineVideo doc 'MH-17 The Untold Story': controversy over crash continues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1P8VuMrNl7c/VForWqj9DdI/AAAAAAAAJf8/WKNkO16eNdg/s1600/MH-17-untold-story.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="MH-17 the untold story" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1P8VuMrNl7c/VForWqj9DdI/AAAAAAAAJf8/WKNkO16eNdg/s1600/MH-17-untold-story.jpg" title="MH-17 the untold story - Ukrainian jet cannon fire" /></a></div><br /><i>MH-17: The Untold Story</i> is a recently released investigative documentary on the circumstances surrounding the crash of the Malaysian Airlines Boeing over eastern Ukraine. It calls into question the <a href="http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/09/troubling-questions-about-mh-17-crash.html">often cited belief in mainstream Western media</a> that a BUK missile fired by pro-Russian self-defence forces was behind the downing of the plane. The doc includes eye witness accounts and expert opinion. It can be viewed in its entirety at the end of this post.<br /><br />Local villagers make an appearance in the film... witnesses who have no doubt that they saw a Ukrainian jet fighter in the proximity of MH-17 around the time of the crash. In an earlier post I referred to the testimony of <a href="http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/10/frans-timmermans-oxygen-mask-revelation.html#more">other witnesses</a> who also claim to have seen a Ukrainian jet fighter in the proximity of Malaysian plane. Their testimony can be viewed <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnncBV_Wv7c">in this YouTube video</a>.<br /><br />The doc includes an experiment that was run by the Russian Air Force in order to demonstrate the type of damage done by 30-mm cannon fire - the type of gun used in Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-25 fighters. A check following the staged strike shows damage and entry/exit holes that on a cursory inspection appear similar to the damage on the fuselage of MH-17.<br /><br />Some objections have been raised by pundits who see inconsistencies in the damage shown in the Russian example as compared to the MH-17 damage. A rebuttal to these objections has come from a variety of commenters. One who goes by the name Pasparal da Beira do Canal posted the following interesting response on the site Bellingcat:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Question: how does the fuselage skin of an Aero L-39 (used in the demonstration) compare to the reinforced double-layered skin of a Boeing 777 cockpit? My guess is 30mm AP shells would create slightly smaller punctures in the latter.<br /><br />According to the main alternative hypothesis Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was ambushed by one or more fighter jets which shot the Boeing down using both cannons and air-to-air missiles. The Russian military claimed the plane they detected ascending towards MH17 had a radar profile similar to a Sukhoi Su-25 which is a Soviet built ground-attack aircraft. A typical Su-25 is equipped with a double-barreled 30-mm gun, type GSh-302 / AO-17A. In addition the Su‐25 is capable of carrying SPPU‐22 containers with 23 mm GSh‐23L dual‐barrel cannons. Another comparable plane, such as the Italian version of AMX International AMX 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 Vulcan 6-barreled Gatling cannon.<br /><br />Let’s also take into account <a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ByY1DFyCQAAH4Vf.png:large">what a bullet or shell impact looks like at different angles</a>. (Note that these impacts were made in a test environment with homogeneous metal plates.) </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">So dismissing the fighter jet non-Buk hypothesis, merely because some impact damage cannot be caused by 30 mm makes no sense (except if you are a hired apologist on the payroll of SIS, NED, the Open Democracy Foundation).</blockquote><br />The question of what caused the damage to MH-17 is yet to be conclusively answered. Whether it was a surface-to-air missile possibly of the BUK variety, an air-to-air missile, jet fighter cannon fire or a combination of two of these possibilities is still being hotly debated. In an <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/mh17-ermittler-westerbeke-ueber-den-absturz-in-der-ukraine-a-999193.html">interview with the German online magazine Spiegel</a>, Dutch investigator Fred Westerbeke said that while he sees a surface-to-air missile as the most likely scenario, he doesn't rule out other possibilities.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TianBHsrS8M/VFjo5w1sbBI/AAAAAAAAJfs/Kdzgt7zeaSY/s1600/Spiegel-Westerbeke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Fred Westerbeke - Spiegel" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TianBHsrS8M/VFjo5w1sbBI/AAAAAAAAJfs/Kdzgt7zeaSY/s1600/Spiegel-Westerbeke.jpg" title="Fred Westerbeke interviewed by Spiegel online" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fred Westerbeke (right) during the Spiegel interview</span></i></div><br /><br />Here is an excerpt from the Spiegel interview in translation:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Spiegel</b>: So far, is there any indisputable evidence? <br /><br /><b>Westerbeke</b>: If you look in the newspapers, yes. But if we really want to bring the perpetrators to justice, we need more evidence than a recorded phone call from the internet or photos of the crash site. That's why we take several scenarios into consideration. <br /><br /><b>Spiegel</b>: What are the scenarios? <br /><br /><b>Westerbeke</b>: An accident, a terrorist attack, the shooting down by a surface to air missile or an attack by another aircraft. We have ruled out the first two. <br /><br /><b>Spiegel</b>: Moscow circulated for some time, a claim that the passenger plane had been shot down by a Ukrainian fighter jet. Do you think it possible? <br /><br /><b>Westerbeke</b>: Based on the available information... a ground-to-air missile in my eyes is still the most likely scenario. But we do not close our eyes to the possibility that it might have been different. </blockquote><br />Westerbeke's fairly frank language in the course of the Spiegel interview is surprising, especially since there is some doubt that any verdict reached by Dutch investigators will be free of the taint of influence.<br /><br />To view <i>MH-17: The Untold Story</i> click on the 'read more' link beneath.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><center></center><center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/iuoIw3jBV4g" width="560"></iframe></center>http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/11/video-doc-mh-17-untold-story-makes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-1489991947673422093Mon, 27 Oct 2014 19:26:00 +00002014-10-28T18:51:46.422-07:00CanadaCanadian governmentjihadismMichael Zehaf-BibeauMiddle EastOttawa shootingsecurity powersStephen HarperterrorismUS foreign policy'Terrorism threat' hyped - fuels Harper government's reactionary right-wing agenda<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n2Etym7uTDA/VE6pdVw7FHI/AAAAAAAAJe0/ijc5SaSdSBM/s1600/terror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Ottawa shooting used by Harper to exploit terrorist threat" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n2Etym7uTDA/VE6pdVw7FHI/AAAAAAAAJe0/ijc5SaSdSBM/s1600/terror.jpg" title="Ottawa shooting - Michael Zehaf-Bibeau - Stephen Harper" /></a></div><br />Following the Ottawa shooting both the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star ran headlines that signaled the nation was under assault. The Globe went with the single word "Attacked" superimposed on a silhouette of parliament, with a solitary red-and-white Canadian flag fluttering against the background gloom. The Star went with "Under Siege" with the sub-heading "Terror grips Ottawa and the nation."<br /><br />The message of 'nation-under-threat' contained in these headlines and images was also apparent in the rhetoric of the Harper government that framed the Ottawa shooting incident as a terrorist attack... an attack on the very heart of democracy.<br /><br />Two incidents involving Canadian military personnel happened within days of each other. In the Ottawa incident, a homeless man with a history of drug issues named Michael Zehaf-Bibeau shot Cpl Nathan Cirillo dead at the National War Memorial. Days earlier two members of the Canadian military were struck by a car driven by Martin Couture-Rouleau. This occurred in a parking lot located in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, about 40 ks southeast of Montreal. One of those struck, Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, has since died. <br /><br />The government response to the Ottawa incident went all out... enacting the National Anti-Terrorism Plan, which as <a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/10/24/cana-o24.html">this report</a> notes&nbsp; "... involved the coordinated mobilization of all sections of the national-security apparatus, including the military; placed large sections of downtown Ottawa under lockdown for ten hours; and ordered Canadian Armed Forces’ bases across the country to go on high alert."<br /><br />During a televised address a grim looking Harper used the terms "terrorist" and "terrorist attack" and was clearly intent on conveying the impression of Canada under siege. He also appeared to use the incident in an effort to channel public outrage behind support for Canada's role in the US-led bombing campaign in the Middle East.<br /><br />Speaking in parliament on Thursday Harper made clear the government's determination to use the incident to increase the powers of the security apparatus: “Our law and police powers need to be strengthened in the area of surveillance, detention and arrest... I assure you that work—which is already underway—will be expedited.”<br /><br />The way these incidents have been framed plays into a reactionary <a href="http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/899.php">right-wing agenda</a> that seeks to justify militarism, increased powers for the security establishment (and with it an erosion of democratic rights). Such hyped up rhetoric doesn't unify the nation - it divides it. Over the years since 9/11 how often have we seen the same tactics used time and again south of the border.<br /><br />Let's be clear, these attacks were carried out by disturbed individuals with troubled personal histories. Neither man had active operational links to any terrorist organization - homegrown or otherwise - and no connections to each other. Neither man has been reported to be part of any sleeper cell or larger attack plan. Both were clearly at odds with a federal government at war, but despite their identification with jihadism (via the internet) their actions weren't aimed at the general public, infrastructure or other soft targets - as is the case with the vast majority of terrorist attacks. So care needs to be taken not to conflate their acts, however brutal, with "terrorism" most especially when there is an agenda in some quarters in this country to do precisely that... for all the wrong reasons.<br /><br />This is not to say that Canada isn't a possible target for a coordinated terror attack. The divisive policies of the Harper government, its neocon-like foreign policy positions and <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/ottawa-shooting-harpers-prous-agenda-has-turned-canada-into-a-target-and-divided-society-9811918.html">pro-US agenda</a> have created the climate in which such outcomes are more rather than less likely. In the process Harper has badly damaged Canada's long-standing reputation as a fair broker and peace keeper, once widely respected in the broader international community for exactly those qualities.<br /><br />Harper's determination to drag Canada into another bombing war in the Middle East alongside Uncle Sam, Sunni dictatorships and former colonial powers is a big mistake. But it goes hand-in-glove with the Tories beefed-up-vision of Canada that includes reviving attachments to the British monarchy and attaching the word&nbsp; "Royal" to the Canadian Navy and Air Force. Militarism has become more and more of a priority for Ottawa.<br /><br />As with many similar incidents mislabeled "terrorism" a close look at the facts of these recent cases reveal a very different backstory... less to do with terrorism than broken families, personal problems, alienation and <a href="http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2014/10/25/Enemy_Is_Neglect_Of_Mental_Ilness/">mental health issues</a>.<br /><br />The Ottawa shooter, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, was enstranged from his family and had a history of drug use, including crack cocaine. In 2011 he was arrested in Vancouver for <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ottawa-shootings-suspect-michael-zehafbibeau-attempted-to-rob-mcdonalds-to-beat-drug-addiction-in-prison-9816537.html">approaching a worker in a McDonald's restaurant </a>with a sharpened stick and demanding cash. The worker called police and Zehaf-Bibeau calmly awaited their arrival. He claimed that he wanted to go to jail to clean up his crack addiction. He had other run ins with the law in his past. At the time of the Ottawa incident he was living in a local mission shelter. Some of those who knew Zehaf-Bibeau in Vancouver and Ottawa believed that he was dealing with drug and mental health issues.<br /><br />In a letter to Postmedia News, Zehaf-Bibeau's mother - a senior official with the Immigration and Refugee Board - said that her son wanted to travel to Saudi Arabia, not Syria as originally claimed by police. RCMP Deputy Commissioner, Mike Cabana, has acknowledged the mistake on the part of the police.<br /><br />His mother also made the point that Zehaf-Bibeau went to Ottawa to try and convince officials to give him clearance to travel. She believes that the inability to obtain a passport caused him to snap and lash out at what she describes as "symbols of government." She also said that&nbsp; “Most will call my son a terrorist, I don’t believe he was part of an organization or acted on behalf of some grand ideology or for a political motive... I believe he acted in despair."http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/10/terrorism-threat-hyped-to-fuel-harper.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-1936124009975788546Mon, 27 Oct 2014 19:25:00 +00002014-10-29T01:30:01.689-07:00CanadaCanadian foreign policyCARTOON STRIP - 'Cut Outs'Ottawa shootingStephen HarperterrorismSeizing the day: Harper style<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d91joOhQJm8/VFClWj3LoKI/AAAAAAAAJfU/mq5pVG--nfU/s1600/Ottawa-shooter-Harper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Harper exploits Ottawa shooting to increase security powers" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d91joOhQJm8/VFClWj3LoKI/AAAAAAAAJfU/mq5pVG--nfU/s1600/Ottawa-shooter-Harper.jpg" title="Ottawa shooting - Stephen Harper" /></a></div><br />http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/10/seizing-day-harper-style.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-297002558434207787Thu, 23 Oct 2014 02:31:00 +00002014-10-23T08:58:15.204-07:00ALBA-TCPcapitalismCubaEbolaHavanaWest AfricaWorld Health OrganizationCuban medics on front lines of the Ebola fight: lack of adequate public healthcare at root of crisis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SfZkLBCgD4g/VEhkXL5KoJI/AAAAAAAAJeA/KFY5MBaPaYs/s1600/Cuban-medical-team-Ebola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cuba sends medics to fight Ebola in West Africa" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SfZkLBCgD4g/VEhkXL5KoJI/AAAAAAAAJeA/KFY5MBaPaYs/s1600/Cuban-medical-team-Ebola.jpg" title="Cuban medical team to tackle Ebola crisis in West Africa" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Top: Cuban medical team leaving for West Africa</i></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Beneath: Arrival in Sierra Leone</i></span></div><br />The magnificent Cuban response to the Ebola crisis is in a class of its own. While Western nations pledge funds to fight the disease there has been a reluctance to step up and send needed medical personnel. Cuba by contrast will send some 461 doctors and nurses to West Africa - the most medical personnel sent by any nation. One hundred and sixty four Cuban medics are already in West Africa setting up operations. <br /><br />The World Health Organization (WHO) published the <a href="http://www.who.int/features/2014/cuban-ebola-team/en/">following update</a> on the Cuban contribution:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The Cuban team consists of 100 nurses, 50 doctors, 3 epidemiologists, 3 intensive care specialists, 3 infection control specialist nurses and 5 social mobilization officers, all overseen by epidemiologist Dr Jorge Juan Delgado Bustillo.<br /><br />All of the Cuban health workers have more than 15 years’ experience and have worked in other countries facing natural disasters and disease outbreaks. Some of the workers have already been working in Sierra Leone and Guinea for some years and are willing to continue their service there.</blockquote><br />In related news, on October 20 a special Summit dealing with the Ebola crisis convened in Havana. It included member countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA-TCP). A 23-point statement was approved that you can read <a href="https://youthandeldersja.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/cuba-special-alba-summit-on-ebola-ends-with-23-point-statement/">here</a>. <br /><br />ALBA-TCP received a special letter of thanks from Margaret Chan, Director General of the World Health Organization - <a href="https://youthandeldersja.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/who-thank-you-cuba-alba-a-well-prepared-country-can-defeat-the-ebola-outbreak/">here</a>. <br /><br />This exceptional medical response by Cuba in the face of the Ebola threat is by no means unusual. Since the 1950's Cuba has dispatched medical teams to many countries around the world dealing with disease and natural disasters. Following the 2004 Asian tsunami Cuba sent medical teams to Sri Lanka and Banda Aceh. A mission was also sent to Pakistan after the earthquake in Kashmir (2005) and to Haiti in 2010 following the devastating earthquake in that country. Cuban medical teams provided a desperately needed service. Their work also extended to the training of Haitian doctors.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hF2yaoInnZc/VEhkf56e0nI/AAAAAAAAJeI/x35D-pmVweo/s1600/Raul-Castro-and-Cuban-medical-team.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Raul Castro and Cuban medical team" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hF2yaoInnZc/VEhkf56e0nI/AAAAAAAAJeI/x35D-pmVweo/s1600/Raul-Castro-and-Cuban-medical-team.jpg" title="Ebola crisis - Raul Castro sees off Cuban medical team headed for W. Africa" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">&nbsp;President Raúl Castro sees off Cuban medics headed for W. Africa</span></i></div><br />West African nations that are struggling to contain the Ebola crisis are ill-equipped to deal with current challenges. They lack medical infrastructure and personnel equal to the task. The lack of adequate public healthcare in these countries speaks to a world capitalist system that supports privatized solutions - tiered levels of care that go from top-notch care for the wealthy to disgracefully underfunded and neglected public hospitals. <br /><br />In an interview with Tariq Ali that appeared in <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/">Counterpunch</a>, Allyson Pollock - a UK professor of public health research and policy - makes a number of key points about the vital importance of public health systems when confronting a crisis of this sort.<br /><br />Pollock: <br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">NGOs such as the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, which have no democratic base, no accountability and which in turn are doing untold harm through their vertical disease programmes because they are not rooted in public health and the public health systems.&nbsp; And a good example of a vertical disease programme is when you take Ebola and then you bring in your operation to tackle Ebola and you ignore all the other causes of disease, such as TB or malaria, or poverty, malnutrition and at the same time when you focus all the efforts of the industry on vaccine development.<br /><br />... Now I’m not saying we don’t need vaccines, but one of the big problems is that vaccine development itself is now in the hands of these large very powerful foundations like NGOs, like GAVI – the Global Alliance for Vaccine Initiative... vaccines mean mass immunisation, it means numbers and numbers mean money.&nbsp; And of course it is being paid for by the West and Western governments when this money could much more easily flow into the governments themselves to re-build their health systems because we are talking about re-building public health infrastructure and that includes putting in community primary health care, community health systems, infection control units at community level, putting in hospitals and training nurses and doctors.&nbsp; And the big, other big problem in all of these countries is not just a brain-drain, because a few doctors and nurses are there, they want to leave and that is happening also in Nigeria, or they want to work in the private sector or they want to work for these NGOs because the money is much better and so the whole public health system is completely hollowed out.&nbsp; And this is a real problem because the Gates Foundation, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates, do not believe in the public sector, they do not believe in a democratic, publically owned, publically accountable [system].</blockquote><br />Read the full interview <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/10/10/the-origins-of-the-ebola-crisis/print">here</a>.<br /><br />The United States with its GDP of $17.3 trillion (as opposed to Cuba's GDP of $72.3 billion) has a history of exploitative for-profit medicine, not to mention the greed-driven profiteering of big pharma. By contrast much 'poorer' Cuba has steadfastly upheld the political and moral priority of healthcare as an intrinsic right for its citizens and by extension, the citizens of other countries in times of need. It speaks volumes that Cuba is the country making the largest contribution of medical personnel at this critical time for the world community. http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/10/cuban-medics-on-front-lines-of-ebola.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-7798224807589896244Sun, 19 Oct 2014 10:30:00 +00002014-10-19T10:35:53.758-07:00ChinaMH-17MoscowOliver StonePutinRossiyskaya GazetaRussiaUkraineUS mediaWashingtonThe Oliver Stone Rossiyskaya Gazeta interview: Ukraine, US media bias, Putin, MH-17 and more<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j3AW8P5Ud6s/VEOODGME27I/AAAAAAAAJdw/hRioxlLtbbE/s1600/stone22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Oliver Stone Russian interview" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j3AW8P5Ud6s/VEOODGME27I/AAAAAAAAJdw/hRioxlLtbbE/s1600/stone22.jpg" title="Oliver Stone Rossiyskaya Gazeta interview" /></a></div><br />American film director, Oliver Stone, recently gave a lengthy interview to the Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta. He is in the region helping to produce a documentary with the title <i>Ukraine on Fire. </i><br /><br />Excerpts from the interview showed up in various online publications but I just recently came across an English version of the whole deal on the website <a href="http://russia-insider.com/en">Russian Insider</a>. It's quite an extensive interview, so I'm posting parts of it that pick up on some of the topics I've addressed on the blog... the Ukraine crisis, American interventionism, Western imperialism, Putin, misrepresentation of Russia by Western media being a few.<br /><br />Oliver Stone has consistently taken an objective and principled stand when it comes to American power and its many abuses. Of course he gets trashed in some quarters of the American media for speaking out. Stone detractor - Nat Brown - published a piece in National Review Online entitled "Putin's Useful Idiot" that includes predictable Russia bashing. Brown's barely contained bugle boy patriotism and tunnel vision demonstrates who the "useful idiot" <i>really</i> is... enough to make Joe McCarthy proud.<br /><br /><a href="http://rg.ru/2014/09/25/stoun.html">Here's the link</a> to the original Russian version of the interview in Rossiyskaya Gazeta.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>Is it scary to stand alone against the powerful US propaganda machine?</i><br /><br />I wouldn't put the question this way. I think many Americans would agree with me that the United States is on the wrong path - the path of war and aggression... world domination is the goal. Russia and China remain independent powers with nuclear capabilities, and this is very important, it's good for the world in terms of the balance of power. I think that the former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger would agree with me. Without this balance, the United States would become the sole superpower. In this role America misbehaved starting wars in Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, militarizing Libya. The US has a goal to control the world's resources, control and police the whole world. Now America is trying to surround China and Russia. The prize in this fight is Eurasia where the biggest resources lie.<br /><br /><i>Why are the Americans pushing Russia towards China. Isn’t that insane?</i><br /><br />You know, in my opinion, an alliance between China and Russia in Eurasia is natural, as well as their partnership with other countries, such as Kazakhstan. That is the future. If the countries in the region agree that the United States is a threat in terms of control over resources, there may be problems. But America will not give it up, because the people in Washington feel that we have a right to rule the world, and so it’s in our interest to destabilize Russia, divide Ukraine, to change the government in Moscow. It started a few years ago. Remove Putin, remove new Russia, and then go after China.<br /><br /><i>Oliver, are we correct to understand that you support Gorbachev, who is not very popular now?</i><br /><br />Yes, I liked him, although I know that he was unpopular and removed from power in 1991. I read his recent memoir, in which he describes clearly the chain of events that destabilized the situation, tells who Boris Yeltsin was and how the USSR collapsed. I think that if Gorbachev was allowed to continue the world would be in a better position now. But the United States wanted to make Russia a capitalist country, sending its experts, so-called Harvard boys, who advised and freed up the economy. And the result was a gangster economy.<br /><br /><i>How do you see the role of Putin in this context?</i><br /><br />I think, though many feel different, that Vladimir Putin has played a very important role to stop the slide in Russia. He said "no" to Yeltsin's policies and put the new state in order and the new authoritarianism. I think it gave Russians a sense of certainty, consistency and pride back. In the 1990s Russia's economy shrank to the size of the economy of the Netherlands, which is very small for such a big country. Taking back the state from the hands of the gangsters was a very important move for Russia. On that basis I certainly admire Putin as a strong man.<br /><br />In Russia you always had to play with a very different set of rules than we do in the United States, it is much tougher and rougher. So my perception when I went back to Russia in the 1990s, was that it looked new, fresh, had a lot of night clubs, security guards. Then I went back in early 2000s. I didn’t know what was going on in the regions, but in Moscow the quality of consumer services was better. The city became very expensive, sleek, modern. People in Moscow seemed happier to me. They don’t smile a lot because you have tough weather, but they have a deep soul, and when you spend time with them you realize that they are warm and giving people. Certainly it’s not the picture painted of Russia or Putin. I like Russian people.<br /><br /><i>On Facebook you questioned US government accusations that Moscow was responsible for shooting down the Malaysian Boeing. Now, two months later, the Dutch report has been published, but it didn’t clarify the situation. What do you think about that? Who shot down the plane?</i><br /><br />This is another example of inefficient coverage of events in the West. The Secretary of State John Kerry made hysterical accusations against Russia. And he did that before against Syria, accusing the government of using sarin gas, although there was a lot of contrary evidence that the gas was released by the Syrian opposition. I read reports in the Russian media that there was a Ukrainian army jet flying next to the Boeing. We should check the fuselage and see if there was a possibility that the plane was shot down by the fighter. That possibility exists. Moreover, immediately after the catastrophe there was a leaked report from United States intelligence agencies that it was a Ukrainian government crew that launched a missile because they were drunk. And then they said that these were pro-Russian separatists wearing the uniform of the Ukrainian military. What am I supposed to conclude from that information?<br /><br />There’s another missed part of this story. The United States has, as we know thanks to Mr. Snowden, comprehensive intelligence capabilities all around the globe, and especially in Ukraine in such an important moment. So why didn't the US publish any photos of this. That tells you a lot. It seems like they don’t want people to know about the Ukrainian fighter jet in the air. And how can you miss quite a large “Buk” complex that includes some large rockets? The United States didn’t present any evidence that these missiles came to Ukraine from Russia. I also read that Russia had given such complexes to the Ukrainian army before the crisis. So evidences are far from conclusive. In the UK experts are working on "black boxes", but the results of the investigation will be revealed in 2015, it’s too late. My hunch is that "bad guys" in the Ukrainian government shot down the plane. I'm not sure, but that’s my hunch.<br /><br /><i>In one interview, you described modern media by saying that they are making a fire to lynch the truth. What’s your view on the importance of media in the coverage of events in the world and in Ukraine?</i><br /><br />It’s awful. I am a veteran of the Vietnam War, and during that war the same stories went around. When, for example, an American destroyer allegedly came under fire from the North Vietnamese,&nbsp; the United States Congress passed the Tonkin resolution&nbsp; which started the war in Vietnam. Many years later we learned that it wasn't fire from the North Vietnamese, but was all American provoked. Always false provocations. We’ve seen a lot of that. For example, when George W. Bush at the UN reported about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. We've seen it in Kuwait under his father George Bush, with false reports about the barbarity of the Iraqi troops, who supposedly were killing babies. The United States is very good at making this kind of covert operations for public opinion. For many years we have practiced regime change in many countries. Now it’s going on in Venezuela... using tools ranging from economic pressure to provocative publications in the media. These techniques were developed and used in Ukraine, where National Endowment for Democracy works. They had a goal to overthrow the government and replace it with a pro-Western government.<br /><br />I never read such bullshit about the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. Everybody was pointing to Russian problems and flaws, there were negative stories about Putin. And now with the crisis in Ukraine stories continue to be false. I get news from other sources, not only from American newspapers. But the American people are being fed by television and other media with stories about Russian aggression. This is very dangerous.</blockquote><br />Link to the full interview on Russian Insider - <a href="http://russia-insider.com/en/politics_ukraine_opinion_media_watch_snowden/2014/10/17/02-55-08pm/ri_exclusive_oliver_stones_full">here</a>.http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/10/the-oliver-stone-rossiyskaya-gazeta.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-5260634314059178759Wed, 15 Oct 2014 20:02:00 +00002016-06-14T18:52:17.754-07:00Buk missileDutch Safety BoardKievMalaysian AirlinesMH-17Russiaself-defense forcesUkraineUS governmentFrans Timmermans oxygen mask revelation raises questions about MH-17 missile strike scenario<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-desZZ5Uw5Dw/VENBkZz46pI/AAAAAAAAJdg/SqRe44uuIXI/s1600/malaysia_mh17_crash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Australian passenger of MH17 found wearing oxygen mask" border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-desZZ5Uw5Dw/VENBkZz46pI/AAAAAAAAJdg/SqRe44uuIXI/s1600/malaysia_mh17_crash.jpg" title="MH-17 oxygen mask revelation - Frans Timmermans" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/09/troubling-questions-about-mh-17-crash.html">Earlier posts</a> on this blog followed the story of Malaysian Airlines flight MH-17 - the passenger plane brought down over Eastern Ukraine. Accusations that pro-Russian self-defence forces targeted the plane with a BUK type ground-to-air missile have been&nbsp; made repeatedly by Western media and government officials. However to date while there is lots of theory and speculation, there is an <a href="http://consortiumnews.com/2014/08/03/flight-17-shoot-down-scenario-shifts/">absence of credible evidence</a> that definitively demonstrates this to be the case.<br /><br />There is much about the fall-out from the MH-17 disaster that has the look of a cover-up... an impression added to by critical gaps in the preliminary <a href="http://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/uploads/phase-docs/701/b3923acad0ceprem-rapport-mh-17-en-interactief.pdf">Dutch crash report</a>. A more recent revelation involving an oxygen mask adds to the impression of a lack of transparency. There was zero mention in the Dutch report of any finding relating to oxygen masks.&nbsp; <br /><br />The <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/flight-mh17-man-found-with-oxygen-mask-leads-to-further-questions-over-crash-9785593.html?origin=internalSearch">news leaked out</a> when Dutch Foreign Affairs minister Frans Timmermans dropped a few telling comments on the Dutch late-night show 'Pauw.' Host Jeroen Pauw accused Timmermans of overly dramatizing the last moments aboard MH-17. This was most likely a reference to an emotional speech made by Timmermans in the UN Security Council in the course of which he alluded to last glances between the passengers... as he put it... "one final time, in an unarticulated goodbye." <br /><br />In the course of addressing the charge of over-dramatization, Timmermans made the remark he has now come to regret. He told Pauw - "They did not see the rocket coming, but do you know someone was found with an oxygen mask on his mouth? He thus had the time to do that." <br /><br />Timmermans remarks raise questions about the validity of the BUK missile strike hypothesis. As a number of experts have stated, the passengers would not have been aware of the approach of a ground-to-air BUK missile. Such a strike out-of-the-blue doesn't lend itself to lingering glances... let alone soulful ones signaling final adieus. It is also debatable whether the Australian passenger would have had time to don an oxygen mask, a procedure that can be more tricky than it seems under pressure of a panicky emergency situation.<br /><br />Timmermans' revelation raises questions about the version of events in the Dutch report which suggests the plane disintegrated after being impacted by "high energy objects." In this scenario the passengers would have been either dead or unconscious pretty much immediately following the impact. This would have made the deployment of an oxygen mask extremely improbable.<br /><br />Here is what experts <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/malaysian-airlines-flight-mh17-what-happens-passengers-immediately-after-missile-strike-1457358">had to say</a> about the impact of a missile strike of this sort on passengers.<br /><br />Justin Bronk, a research analyst at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) said: "Almost nobody on board would have known what was happening. If not instantly, they will have been unconscious within split seconds."<br /><br />James Vosswinkel, chief of trauma and surgical critical care at the State University of New York at Stony Brook is cited in media reports saying that: "You have such horrific forces that it's essentially unsurvivable... No one was conscious or experienced that fall."<br /><br />Bill Waldock, a professor of safety science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, told Bloomberg: "The warhead is like a giant shotgun shell sending multiple shards of metal through the plane... It's literally an explosive decompression and would have caused a lot of g-force pushing people back in their seats."<br /><br />Waldock said that&nbsp; 'hypoxia would have knocked anyone who survived the explosion unconscious.'<br /><br />So what really happened? Given the variables involved its impossible to rule out a missile of some sort. Some analysts have speculated about a two-strike scenario, possibly involving a jet fighter working together with a ground-to-air battery. This is supported by eye witnesses on the ground who have testified that they saw a fighter jet in the vicinity of MH-17 just prior to its downing. In such a scenario its possible that a first less catastrophic strike on the plane allowed time for a reaction - for example for the donning of oxygen masks - before the second fatal hit by a ground-to-air missile, possibly of the BUK variety. It should be noted that although BUK missiles are made in Russia, earlier versions of the BUK were acquired by Ukraine and have been deployed by its military. The Russians claim that batteries of Ukrainian BUKs were in the disputed region at the time of the MH-17 shoot down.<br /><br />Eye witnesses on the ground claimed in a BBC video report that they saw a jet fighter in the proximity of MH-17 and heard explosions in the sky overhead. The claim of <b>two</b> explosions made by some of the eye witnesses fits in with the hypothetical two-strike scenario.<br /><br />Given questionable transparency on the part of Dutch authorities investigating the crash, the chances of getting the whole truth about what really happened that fateful day seems increasingly remote.<br /><br />Check out an excerpt from the BBC video in which female eye witnesses on-the-scene claim to have seen a Ukrainian military jet in the proximity of MH-17 before the "explosions."<br /><br />To view the video click "read more" beneath.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/pnncBV_Wv7c" width="560"></iframe></center>http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/10/frans-timmermans-oxygen-mask-revelation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-4861207202551711099Mon, 06 Oct 2014 12:36:00 +00002014-10-20T20:11:45.918-07:00al-Nusra Frontal-QaedaIraqISILKhorasan GroupObama administrationSyriaUnited StatesWashingtonReasons why "The Khorasan Group" was fabricated by the US government<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g89DMp75LVo/VDLvkldz-aI/AAAAAAAAJbc/8a2c7uysvmo/s1600/khorasan_threat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Khorasan Group was invented " border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g89DMp75LVo/VDLvkldz-aI/AAAAAAAAJbc/8a2c7uysvmo/s1600/khorasan_threat.jpg" title="The invention of Khorasan by the US government" /></a></div><br />When the US-led bombing campaign in Syria got underway media outlets announced the emergence of a new jihadist threat that posed an even greater threat to the US than ISIL. It wasn't just a threat to the region, but a direct and imminent threat to the United States. "The Khorasan Group" we were informed was plotting attacks against US aviation and was looking to recruit foreigners to facilitate attacks on the American homeland. <br /><br />Prior to the revelations of the new "imminent threat" the alleged Khorasan Group was all but unknown to reporters and analysts - unknown even to rebel groups within Syria itself. Al-Jazeera's Imran Khan <a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.com/blog/asia/khorasan-group-isnt">contacted people</a> to see if he could come up with anyone who had heard of such a group. This is some of what he had to say:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">I began to make some calls to contacts across the Middle East and South Asia. To say I drew a blank would be an understatement. Reactions ranged from a hearty laugh to confusion. The name was new. <br /><br />In Pakistan I spoke to Ahmed, not his real name, and asked him who the group was. Ahmed is an occasional blogger and activist who openly supports ISIL. He is a veteran of Jihad in Afghanistan and resides in Rawalpindi, surrounded by pamphlets urging Muslims to rise up against the West. "Khorasan? I don't know that name. I don't know who they are." </blockquote><br />This isn't as unusual as it may seem. <a href="http://original.antiwar.com/ted_snider/2014/10/03/did-america-fake-imminent-terrorist-attacks-to-justify-bombing-syria-2/">It wouldn't be the first time</a> an American administration has come up with a bit of strategic propaganda to validate its war making --- you might say it's true to form as the US embarks on yet <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/defense/218656-pentagon-isis-campaign-could-last-years">another long war</a> in the Middle East.<br /><br />One of the primary reasons for mounting the fake terror threat was to create fear and apprehension in the American public. What better way to justify a bombing campaign than to magic up a jihadist entity with frightening threat capability. Such propagandistic tactics not only lend justification to the bombing but scare up support for the war... provided of course it doesn't backfire.<br /><br />The Obama administration has been known to put a spin on familiar terms and even invent a few new ones in order to reenforce administration positions. "Khorasan" is al-Qaeda. But after Obama traveled the length and breadth of the United States boasting about the all-but-certain defeat of al-Qaeda, a new terror threat posed by the hitherto unheard of but infinitely scary&nbsp; "Khorasan Group" sure helps to save face.<br /><br />Following the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, the Obama administration began promoting a misleading narrative about al-Qaeda and global jihad in general. In speech after speech, Obama assured listeners that al-Qaeda was facing defeat. According to some US media outlets, statements about al-Qaeda's demise were made over thirty times by Obama. He told audiences in Las Vegas and elsewhere that "... al-Qaeda is on the path to defeat." During a speech at NYC's Waldorf Astoria he even used the term "decimated" which is about as definitive as you can get... "We have gone after the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11 and decimated al-Qaeda."<br /><br /><a href="http://cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-touts-al-qaeda-s-demise-32-times-benghazi-attack-0">CNS report</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">... He returned to the dominant “path to defeat” theme, before going back to “decimated” the next day in Cleveland, where the president said, “I said we’d refocus on the terrorists who actually carried out the 9/11 attacks – and al Qaeda is decimated and Osama bin Laden is dead.”</blockquote><br />After all the bloviating about AQ's fading fortunes it must have been tricky to meld the resurgence of al-Qaeda in Syria with an AQ-on-the-path-to-defeat narrative. The emergence of al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra as one of the most effective rebel fighting forces in Syria&nbsp; - not to mention other AQ-connected groups in the region and elsewhere on the globe - attests to a <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/defense/194210-obama-faces-resurgent-al-qaeda-in-2014">resurgent al-Qaeda</a> rather than an organization on the edge of defeat. Between 2010 and 2013 the number of al-Qaeda and al-Qaeda related groups increased by an estimated 58%. In the light of these developments Obama's predictions about AQ's defeat seem somewhat specious, not to say overblown. <br /><br />Tellingly al-Qaeda related terms in the mouths of the administration became more specialized, with references to "core" and "parent" al-Qaeda in an effort to lend focus to Obama's assertions about damage done. However assassinating key figures in an organization and disrupting aspects of its operations doesn't necessarily add up to its defeat. Increasingly Obama's claims look like a bad case of miscalculation.<br /><br />In effect "Khorasan" is most likely a reference to a cell within the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra Front in Syria. There's no persuasive evidence that the threat from this faction is more real or imminent than that posed by other jihadi groups with the potential means to pose a threat to Western targets. When it comes to Khorasan, Americans were just supposed to take the administration's word for it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Fake-Terror-Threat-Use-by-Glenn-Greenwald-Bombing_Fake-Faux-Terrorism_Isis_Syria-140929-604.html">An article</a> by Glen Greenwald and Murtaza Hussain carefully charts the use of the "Khorasan" term in US media along with the imminent threat hype that accompanied it. The authors reach this conclusion:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">What happened here is all-too-familiar. The Obama administration needed propagandistic and legal rationale for bombing yet another predominantly Muslim country. While emotions over the ISIS beheading videos were high, they were not enough to sustain a lengthy new war.<br /><br />So after spending weeks promoting ISIS as Worse Than Al Qaeda, they unveiled a new, never-before-heard-of group that was Worse Than ISIS. Overnight, as the first bombs on Syria fell, the endlessly helpful U.S. media mindlessly circulated the script they were given: this new group was composed of “hardened terrorists,” posed an “imminent” threat to the U.S. homeland, was in the “final stages” of plots to take down U.S. civilian aircraft, and could “launch more-coordinated and larger attacks on the West in the style of the 9/11 attacks from 2001.”"<br /><br />As usual, anonymity was granted to U.S. officials to make these claims. As usual, there was almost no evidence for any of this. Nonetheless, American media outlets — eager, as always, to justify American wars — spewed all of this with very little skepticism. Worse, they did it by pretending that the U.S. government was trying not to talk about all of this — too secret! — but they, as intrepid, digging journalists, managed to unearth it from their courageous “sources.” Once the damage was done, the evidence quickly emerged about what a sham this all was. But, as always with these government/media propaganda campaigns, the truth emerges only when it’s impotent.</blockquote>http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/10/reasons-why-khorasan-group-was.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-8257030984246365427Mon, 06 Oct 2014 12:31:00 +00002014-10-09T15:29:47.077-07:00al-QaedaCARTOON STRIP - 'Cut Outs'IraqjihadKhorasan GroupObama administrationSyriaMaking things up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mU8Ceec7GcU/VDcMOLY-bqI/AAAAAAAAJck/FAl5mDymIY0/s1600/Khorasan_invented.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="US government invented Khorasan Group" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mU8Ceec7GcU/VDcMOLY-bqI/AAAAAAAAJck/FAl5mDymIY0/s1600/Khorasan_invented.jpg" title="Inventing the Khorasan Group" /></a></div><br />http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/10/making-things-up.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-6486203477853485458Thu, 02 Oct 2014 10:18:00 +00002014-10-03T20:57:06.000-07:00Amnesty InternationalAzov BattalionKievmass gravesneo-NazisPoroshenkoRight SectorSlovianskUkraineKiev's crimes in Eastern Ukraine include reports of torture, execution and mass graves<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F4nYU_AmYRc/VC0hSItEm8I/AAAAAAAAJaM/zxKPfl3dJr0/s1600/mass_graves_ukraine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="bodies exhumed from mass graves in Eastern Ukraine" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F4nYU_AmYRc/VC0hSItEm8I/AAAAAAAAJaM/zxKPfl3dJr0/s1600/mass_graves_ukraine.jpg" title="Self-defense forces in Eastern Ukraine uncover mass graves" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mass graves uncovered in Eastern Ukraine</span></i></div><br />When Ukrainian government forces were raining hell-on-earth on the people of Eastern Ukraine there were many well substantiated claims of atrocities that were routinely underreported or outright ignored by Western media. In addition to shelling and airstrikes directed at civilian areas in Eastern Ukraine by Kiev's military, Right Sector's ultra-nationalist recruits engaged in brutal assaults on towns and villages in the region. <br /><br />In September an <a href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR50/040/2014/en/bb06b5cb-dcb4-4f69-bb3e-c800987676cc/eur500402014en.html">Amnesty International report</a> exposed the activities of the pro-Kiev Aidar Battalion. The tactics employed by Aidar members involved human rights violations that in some cases amounted to war crimes. <br /><br />The report states that:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">In nearly all cases documented by Amnesty International the victims were subjected to beatings at the moment of capture and/or during interrogations, and either had to pay ransom for their release, or had possessions, including money, cars, telephones, and other valuables seized by the battalion members. Many of the witnesses and victims approached by Amnesty International were reluctant to share details of the incidents, fearing retaliation from Aidar battalion members.</blockquote><br />Now with the ceasefire and the withdrawal of Kiev forces the true extent of the crimes is being quite literally unearthed with reports of the discovery of mass graves. Three of the graves were uncovered in the vicinity of the village of Nizhnaya Krynka. The bodies exhumed to date show signs of torture and execution-style killings. <br /><br />A World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) report states that: "OSCE observers monitoring the ceasefire between the Ukrainian army and the separatist forces in the region confirmed the existence of two of the graves. Two graves were allegedly found on the grounds of the Komunar coal mine and another in the village itself."<br /><br />The WSWS report notes that: "The OSCE and the Russian Foreign Ministry have called for an international investigation from the EU and others. There has been no response so far to this demand. Instead, the president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Anne Brasseur, announced she planned to make her own assessment of the situation due to the "great deal of shocking information".<br /><br />To read the full WSWS report <a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/09/30/ukra-s30.html">link here</a>.<br /><br />A self-defense forces leader, Aleksander Zakharchenko, said that at least 40 bodies had already been exhumed. Over the weekend&nbsp; a fourth grave was reportedly discovered. <br /><br />The WSWS report cites a claim made by Voice of Russia state radio that&nbsp; "... four bodies had been found—a man and three women, one of whom was probably pregnant. All of the corpses were wearing civilian clothes. Their hands were tied behind their backs, and gunshot wounds to the backs of their heads were visible. In addition there was evidence of torture."<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qQgj9xXabyU/VC0hapa8wjI/AAAAAAAAJaU/7dwdT6hDXu8/s1600/n26301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="bodies of victims discovered in mass graves in eastern ukraine" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qQgj9xXabyU/VC0hapa8wjI/AAAAAAAAJaU/7dwdT6hDXu8/s1600/n26301.jpg" height="216" title="mass grave uncovered in eastern ukraine" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Body of a female victim at the coal mine site</i></span></div><br />The news of the graves follows on <a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/07/17/ukra-j17.html">earlier reports</a> of similar graves in Sloviansk, and the discovery by self-defense forces of numerous corpses in Luhansk that showed clear signs of torture and execution. Many of these atrocities track back to the oligarch-funded pro-Kiev volunteer battalions that were let loose on local populations. According to Oleh Odnorozhenko, deputy commander of the Azov Battalion, over 50 such volunteer battalions operated in eastern Ukraine.<br /><br /><a href="http://consortiumnews.com/2014/09/08/seeing-no-neo-nazi-militias-in-ukraine/">An article</a> by investigative journalist Robert Parry notes that: "... evidence is mounting that the Kiev regime has waged its so-called “anti-terrorist operation” against ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine by using out-of-control paramilitaries,&nbsp;some guided by Nazi ideology. This behavior, fitting with the far-right political extremism previously&nbsp;known to&nbsp;EU leaders,&nbsp;also violates norms agreed to by the Ukrainian government in its commitment to the OSCE."<br /><br />Some of the far-right volunteers in these battalions acted earlier as muscle during the Maidan protests and subsequent putsch that ousted the government of Victor Yanukovych. Their hardcore extremism proved useful to Kiev that had no apparent qualms about unleashing homebred stormtroopers such as the Azov Battalion to spread fear and brutality. <br /><br />A revealing German mainstream news video that candidly refers to the "neo-Nazis" in the Azov Battalion, shows "chocolate king" Poroshenko beaming from ear-to-ear as he rewards the "heroes" of the Azov for their service. View it <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vZbdn9OQu8">here</a>.http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/10/kievs-crimes-in-eastern-ukraine.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-3332297668735748629Fri, 26 Sep 2014 18:38:00 +00002014-10-20T20:12:50.656-07:00Barack ObamaIranIraqISISjihadisPakistanpredator dronesPresident RouhaniSyriaUnited StatesUSWashingtonNew US-led Middle East war repeats old mistakes: fuels the cycle of violence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sCPtm35_WdE/VCWrY1BiczI/AAAAAAAAJZ8/wEWDnSh807s/s1600/US_war_machine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="new US-led war in Middle East - airstrikes on Syria" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sCPtm35_WdE/VCWrY1BiczI/AAAAAAAAJZ8/wEWDnSh807s/s1600/US_war_machine.jpg" title="US-led airstrikes and rocket fire against targets in Syria" /></a></div><br />Airstrikes and rockets that hit targets in Syria and Iraq this week mark an escalation in the early stages of a war stamped with the trademark -- Made-in-the-USA. This latest war follows upon earlier interventions and strategic errors that helped fan the flames of jihadist militancy.<br /><br />Preferable to a US-led coalition in which Sunni dictatorships and former colonial powers play a prominent role would have been a genuine international effort inclusive of Syria and Iran, and perhaps one or more of the BRICS nations. But given the political snake pit the ME has become any such scenario is certain to be seen as more problem than solution by the imperialist powers who jealously guard their interests. A <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/25/obama-isis-coalition-iran-rouhani-un">Guardian article</a> by Ali Gharib entitled - <i>Obama's ISIS coalition was built at Iran's expense, and Rouhani knows it</i>&nbsp; - discusses some of the hurdles to cooperation even in the face of rampaging ISIL.<br /><br />The lead role of the US in this new war effort is ironic given the American contribution to the actual crisis. The disastrous fall-out from the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and Washington's covert involvement in the Syrian conflict were key factors behind the growth of ISIL and like-minded groups. This angle was of course downplayed as Obama and Gulf autocrats worked to undermine Syria, the only secular state in the region.<br /><br />Imperialist war making and interference has been instrumental in unleashing a tidal wave of sectarianism and Islamist radicalization. There is no reason to suppose that this war will be any different. Even though it is ostensibly being directed at ISIL over time it could be perceived quite differently, especially if the impetus shifts toward the targeting of Syrian regime forces and assets in an effort to oust Assad, or if there is a high civilian casualty toll. Many factors could change the direction and perception of the war.<br /><br />Stirring it up seems to be part of the US talent. Throughout recent decades when it served its purposes Washington cynically supported hardline Islamic groups that more often than not wound up turning against it. The article <i>Playing with Fanatic Fire</i> <a href="http://antiwar.com/blog/2014/09/22/playing-with-fanatic-fire/">published recently on the AntiWar site</a> provides some background on how radical Islam has been exploited in the pursuit of power.<br /><br />During a <a href="http://rt.com/news/190640-rouhani-un-rise-extremism/">UN speech this week</a>, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani rightly linked "strategic blunders" in the Middle East with the rise of groups such as ISIL. Rouhani said -&nbsp; "Certain states have helped to create it, and are now failing to withstand it. Currently our peoples are paying the price." He also said that anti-Western sentiment in parts of the globe was "the offspring of yesterday's colonialism."<br /><br />The use of airstrikes and rockets will create a lot of damage while not defeating the Islamic State. This is a recipe for a long drawn out war with civilian casualties. The recent airstrikes in Syria have already resulted in civilian deaths. <a href="http://syriahr.com/en/">The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights</a> reported that eight civilians were killed, including three children. In Der-Ezor province where coalition warplanes targeted ISIL facilities there were civilian casualties. The Syrian Observatory reports that in the countryside of al-Hasakah the dead <a href="http://syriahr.com/en/2014/09/coalition-warplanes-kill-5-civilians-in-air-strikes-on-oil-refineries/">included women and children</a>. More "mistakes" that will be compounded as the bombing campaign progresses.<br /><br />You would think there was no causal chain... no lessons to be learned from past mistakes as the US embarks on yet another war with no foreseeable end and freighted with unseen consequence. The view of Obama as a 'reluctant warrior' isn't supported by the facts. Far from being a reluctant warrior, Obama has exhibited a cynical willingness to exploit US military power even more aggressively than many of his predecessors.<br /><br />The real foreign policy story has been exposed by journalists like Jeremy Scahill <a href="http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2013/01/dirty-wars-jeremy-scahill-and-rick.html">whose book</a> <i>Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield</i> reveals what most Americans don't know about the activities of their government. Scahill investigated the global activities of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and said this of its activities: "The primacy of JSOC within the Obama administration's foreign policy — from Yemen and Somalia to Afghanistan and Pakistan — indicates that he [Obama] has doubled down on the Bush-era policy of targeted assassination as a staple of US foreign policy."<br /><br />Under Obama's watch predator drone strikes dubbed "bug splats" have had a <a href="http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2012/09/mass-trauma-in-pakistani-tribal-areas.html">devastating impact on communities</a> in Pakistan. In the process of targeting militants hundreds of civilians have been killed, including women and children. As Scahill's work confirms black ops, dirty wars and airstrikes have increased during Obama's presidency. This projection of American military power feeds the cycle of violence and adds exponentially to the insecurity in our world rather than decreasing it.http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/09/new-us-led-middle-east-war-repeats-old.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-4429519101771313714Mon, 22 Sep 2014 06:53:00 +00002014-10-20T20:15:53.598-07:00Barack Obamagovernment secrecyinformation controlmediapress freedomUnited StatesWashingtonWhite HouseUS journalists critical of Obama admin secrecy - 'setting standards for secrecy that are spreading nationwide'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7QBTXarY6lk/VCBTXGB4xhI/AAAAAAAAJZc/keZpNkdOzYA/s1600/obama_gov_secrecy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="White House secrecy and information control" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7QBTXarY6lk/VCBTXGB4xhI/AAAAAAAAJZc/keZpNkdOzYA/s1600/obama_gov_secrecy.jpg" title="Obama administration information control and secrecy" /></a></div><br />Barack Obama came into office promising <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2008/11/the_tmi_presidency.html">the most open and transparent government ever</a>. In the light of the Obama administration's obsessive concerns with secrecy and information control the claim seems badly out of sync with current realities.<br /><br />People close to the action are best placed to judge when it comes to issues of access and transparency. Veteran NYT Washington correspondent David E. Sanger described the Obama administration as "the most closed, control freak administration I’ve ever covered."<br /><br />More recently at a convention of news/media editors in Chicago speakers were sharply critical of the lack of White House openness. AP's Washington Bureau Chief, Sally Buzbee, believes the problem of information control "extends across the entire federal government and is now trickling down to state and local governments."<br /><br />A <a href="http://blog.ap.org/2014/09/19/8-ways-the-obama-administration-is-blocking-information/">Definitive Source post</a> includes Buzbee's list of ways in which the Obama administration "is making it hard for journalists to find information and cover the news." Here are two:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">1) As the United States ramps up its fight against Islamic militants, the public can’t see any of it. News organizations can’t shoot photos or video of bombers as they take off — there are no embeds. In fact, the administration won’t even say what country the S. bombers fly from.<br /><br />2) The White House once fought to get cameramen, photographers and reporters into meetings the president had with foreign leaders overseas. That access has become much rarer. Think about the message that sends other nations about how the world’s leading democracy deals with the media: Keep them out and let them use handout photos.</blockquote><br />Read the rest of Buzbee's list <a href="http://blog.ap.org/2014/09/19/8-ways-the-obama-administration-is-blocking-information/">here</a>.<br /><br />Brian Carovillano, AP managing director for US news, said "The White House push to limit access and reduce transparency has essentially served as the secrecy road map for all kinds of organizations — from local and state governments to universities and even sporting events."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ap.org/Content/AP-In-The-News/2014/Journalists-criticize-White-House-for-secrecy">The AP report</a> also mentions a New York Times reporter, James Risen, who believes that pressure on reporters and their sources is having "a chilling effect on newsgathering." Risen described "scaring" a source just by turning up at the person's home and knocking the door. <br /><br />"He opened the door and he turned white," Risen said. "He marches me back through the kitchen (to a back exit) and said, "'Go out that way.'" <br /><br />According to Buzbee sources have been warned that they risk being fired for even talking to reporters. On how the Obama administration rates on transparency as compared with the George W. Bush administration she said: "Bush was not fantastic," adding that "The (Obama) administration is significantly worse than previous administrations."<br /><br />On the White House website Obama states that&nbsp; “Government should be transparent... Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their government is doing.”<br /><br />However the stark contrast between Obama's actual practices in office when compared with his claims on transparency is night and day.&nbsp; In <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5t8GdxFYBU">this YouTube video</a> the one-time candidate for president&nbsp; is heard making promises on transparency that seem like a bad joke given what has transpired in the interim. http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/09/us-journalists-critical-of-obama-admin.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-6222656294200879339Mon, 22 Sep 2014 06:53:00 +00002014-10-20T20:16:56.982-07:00CARTOON STRIP - 'Cut Outs'mediaObamapress freedomtransparencyUnited StatesWashingtonWhite HouseDon't believe the hype<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WlEW3rrGQhk/VCADPAqQXaI/AAAAAAAAJY8/iI23TgmYRuo/s1600/Obama_secrecy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Obama fails to deliver on transparency in government" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WlEW3rrGQhk/VCADPAqQXaI/AAAAAAAAJY8/iI23TgmYRuo/s1600/Obama_secrecy.jpg" title="Obama's campaign promises on transparency" /></a></div><br />http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/09/dont-believe-hype.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-5215592605460945287Thu, 18 Sep 2014 04:29:00 +00002014-10-20T20:13:10.888-07:00al-Nusra FrontIranIraqISILIslamic StateObamaSalafismSunnisSyriaUnited StatesUSWashingtonWashington's war to 'destroy' ISIL: what is ISIL and who is the real security threat?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RHbOkpEauQw/VBpYZuP93LI/AAAAAAAAJX8/jQEub1qBFUQ/s1600/oba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="US to 'destroy' ISIL in new war" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RHbOkpEauQw/VBpYZuP93LI/AAAAAAAAJX8/jQEub1qBFUQ/s1600/oba.jpg" title="US war on ISIL" /></a></div><br />In recent weeks Western media has been sounding the alarm over the speedy territorial gains made by the Islamic State - also known as ISIL and ISIS - with warnings of the threat it poses to the West. In some of the more alarmist commentary you would think&nbsp; ISIL had arisen like a desert djinn and magically metastasized into an evil contagion threatening the so-called "civilized" world. The creation and progress of ISIL is far from a recent development. It arose on the back of the chaos in Iraq in the years following the US invasion - fertile soil for the emergence of Sunni Salafist resistance. You could describe ISIL as the spawn of American war mongering. Washington now wants to destroy what it was <a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/07/30/isis-j30.html">instrumental in creating</a>.<br /><br />An early precursor of the Islamic State, al-Qaeda in Iraq, was led by the Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. AQI later joined with other Sunni insurgent groups and consolidated as Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). As ISIS or Da'esh the group experienced significant growth and capitalized on the alienation among Sunnis who felt discriminated against by the new political order in Baghdad.&nbsp; <br /><br />ISIL's military gains and speedy territorial advances owe much to the stockpile of US weaponry in its possession. By some estimates the ISIL haul of US military hardware in Iraq includes 1,500 Humvees, 4,000 PKC machineguns and 60 M198 155-millimeter howitzers. American weapons have also come into ISIL's possession via other rebel groups in Syria and in some cases directly. <br /><br />As far back as 2012 arms for the rebels were airlifted through Turkey and Jordan with CIA assistance. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/world/middleeast/arms-airlift-to-syrian-rebels-expands-with-cia-aid.html?hp&amp;_r=3&amp;">An NYT article</a> in March of last year entitled <i>Arms Airlift to Syria Rebels Expands, With Aid From C.I.A.</i> gives an overview of the scope and duration of the operations involved.<br /><br />The rapid growth of ISIL also owes much to the millions funneled through Kuwait to aid the Syrian rebel cause and money raised through other channels. Washington's friends in the Arab Gulf behind the anti-Assad push knew exactly who the heavy hitters were among the rebel forces and they weren't John McCain's "good guys." Ghanim al-Mteiri, a leading Kuwaiti fundraiser <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/13/world/middleeast/private-donors-funds-add-wild-card-to-war-in-syria.html?_r=0">told the New York Times</a> -&nbsp;&nbsp; "... we want to get Bashar out of Syria, so why not cooperate with al-Qaeda?" <br /><br />The Islamic State organization includes Iraqis who once opposed the American military machine in their country. Many of them spent time in US holding cells. Among the prisoners held at Camp Bucca was ISIL leader, Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi, where he set about early organizing. <br /><br />Some of the Iraqis in ISIL previously served as officers in Saddam's army - the army that the Americans in their infinite wisdom chose to disband. ISIL has 25 deputies in Syria and Iraq and about a third of these were officers under Saddam and spent time in US prisons. These men bring with them military expertise and a capacity for resistance honed during the arduous years of war in their homeland. Iraqis who hold key positions in ISIL include Fadel al-Hayali, a one-time lieutenant colonel in Saddam's army and Adnan al-Sweidawi, head of ISIL's military council.<br /><br />The American plan to combat ISIL could prove counterproductive and may become a catalyst for a wider war or the type of backlash the West most fears. The plan isn't without internal contradictions.The sight of John Kerry seeking support from the Saudis to combat ISIL is ironic in the extreme given the Saudi track record of support for hardline Salafism elsewhere in the world. This truth was addressed recently in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/23/opinion/isis-atrocities-started-with-saudi-support-for-salafi-hate.html?smid=tw-share&amp;_r=4">an NYT article</a> by Ed Husein who makes this key point - "Let’s be clear: Al Qaeda, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Boko Haram, the Shabab and others are all violent Sunni Salafi groupings. For five decades, Saudi Arabia has been the official sponsor of Sunni Salafism across the globe."<br /><br />Others also see contradictions at work in the US-led coalition. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Marzieh Afkham, <a href="http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/09/iran-foreign-ministry-doubts-us-is-coalition.html">accused the US</a> of attempting to fight ISIL with the countries that helped to create it. She said: "Some of the countries in the coalition are among financial and military supporters of terrorists in Iraq and Syria..."<br /><br />Washington is revving up yet another war in the Middle East that might have no foreseeable end, notwithstanding John Kerry's preferred characterization of US strategy as a "counterterrorism operation." Also Kerry's boasts of a "significant coalition" needs to be viewed with a large dose of skepticism. Not all in the coalition are equally willing and their contributions will vary accordingly. <br /><br />It's disturbing how far Washington has been prepared to extend the leash it has granted itself since 9/11. Micah Zenko, the Douglas Dillon Fellow at Council on Foreign Relations, is quoted in <a href="https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/09/15/warnings-of-endless-iraq-bloodshed/">an Intercept article</a> saying: "The claims of who can be bombed has grown during Obama’s term in office... Three years ago, they pretended only senior Al Qaeda leaders who posed an imminent threat to the U.S. homeland could be killed, then in the NDU [National Defense University] speech Obama said any 'continuing and imminent threat to the American people,' and now the continuing and imminent is gone and it's 'anyone who threatens America's core interests.'"<br /><br />Washington's borderless hitman approach to taking out alleged enemies is a strategy that is arguably lawless and ultimately&nbsp; self-defeating... especially when going after cross-border targets involves an ever-rising civilian death toll. <a href="http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2012/08/drone-strikes-civilian-casualties-much.html">American predator drone strikes</a> in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia have resulted in the death and wounding of hundreds of women and children who simply happened to be in and around the targeted facilities. <br /><br />Washington's high-handed arrogation of powers to itself since 9/11 has seen the destabilization of nations, damage to the social fabric of targeted societies and the emergence not so much of the American global policeman as of the American global cowboy or even terrorist. With scant respect for international law and national sovereignty the US dispatches its forces like a high-tech posse to hunt down the "wanted" wherever and whenever it chooses, even if such missions do risk civilian casualties and add significantly to global tensions. <br /><br />While we've been hearing a lot in the media lately about the threat posed by ISIL, there are grounds to believe that <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/18/another-western-war-spread-terror-isis-us-crisis">American war making</a>, interventionism and "policing" poses a greater threat to global security - one that risks provoking a wider war with serious consequences for the planet. http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/09/washingtons-war-to-destroy-isil-what-is.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-6062634632499034063Fri, 12 Sep 2014 05:10:00 +00002014-09-13T14:23:53.677-07:00Buk missileDonetskDutch Safety BoardMalaysian AirlinesMH-17MoscowOSCERussiaUkraineTroubling questions about MH-17 crash remain following release of Dutch report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sCZy81thPXM/VBKfbrSYGvI/AAAAAAAAJXs/E_OUJwigwRs/s1600/MH17_dsb_report.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="DSB report on MH-17 crash" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sCZy81thPXM/VBKfbrSYGvI/AAAAAAAAJXs/E_OUJwigwRs/s1600/MH17_dsb_report.jpg" title="Dutch DSB report on MH-17" /></a></div><br />The Dutch Safety Board's (DSB) <a href="http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;ved=0CB0QFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.onderzoeksraad.nl%2Fuploads%2Fphase-docs%2F701%2Fb3923acad0ceprem-rapport-mh-17-en-interactief.pdf&amp;ei=c34SVLjfJ8mTyASmyYHgDg&amp;usg=AFQjCNHpKxAIIwF2tYNzd_BOFwOm3KHOxA">preliminary report</a> on the causes of the crash of Malaysian Airlines MH-17 is noteworthy for what it fails to report. It tells us pretty much what we already know or have surmised from analysis of damaged sections of the plane at the crash site. The report states that - "The damage observed in the forward section of the aircraft appears to indicate that the aircraft was penetrated by a large number of high-energy objects from outside the aircraft... It is likely that this damage resulted in a loss of structural integrity of the aircraft, leading to an in-flight break up."<br /><br />No word as to what the mysterious "objects" may have been... whether they were the result of a missile attack (the word "missile" isn't mentioned in the report) or other fire and no hint either when it comes to possible parties involved. <br /><br />The report has confirmed that the cockpit took a lot of the damage... damage noted at first hand by one of the first <a href="http://www.osce.org/">OSCE</a> investigators at the scene of the crash, Canadian Michael Bociurkiw. In <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ze9BNGDyk4">a CBC interview</a> Bociurkiw said that he saw sections of the plane that were "pockmarked." He described the visual appearance as resembling&nbsp; "machine gun fire... very very strong machine gun fire." <br /><br />The report has no comment either on other pertinent matters leaving the field open for spin that a few commentators have been quick to supply.&nbsp; Much of the speculation on the heels of the report's release&nbsp; has come from "experts" in government and media, a number of whom are more than willing to fill in the gaps in order to further their case about Russian involvement. <br /><br />That a surface-to-air missile of the Buk type - possibly armed with a fragmentation warhead - may have been involved is a distinct possibility. Who the investigators believe was behind the targeting of the plane is a question unlikely to be addressed until a much later date, if at all. Given the DSB's extremely cautious approach at this stage of the investigation it's hard not to conclude that a number of key considerations remain opaque or have been understated or shelved for whatever reason.<br /><br />Radar data is a case in point. The DSB received ATC surveillance data from the Russian Federation yet remains silent on the issue of the Ukrainian Su-25 fighter that the Russians <a href="http://rt.com/news/174412-malaysia-plane-russia-ukraine/">claimed their radar tracked</a> as it climbed to within 3 to 5 kilometers of MH-17.<br /><br />Russian radar isn't the only source that places Ukrainian fighter/fighters in the vicinity of MH-17 on July 17. As mentioned <a href="http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/09/troubling-questions-about-mh-17-crash.html">in an earlier post</a>, a BBC report by correspondent Olga Ivshina places eye witnesses at the scene who specifically refer to the presence of Ukrainian military aircraft in the proximity of MH-17 before it crashed. The women who Ivshina spoke with were not militia members, just local civilians. They came across as entirely credible in the related BBC video. <br /><br />The report by Ivshina was subsequently deleted by the BBC. Was it censored because every eye witness interviewed claimed the presence of Ukrainian military aircraft on July 17? Or did it have anything to do with claims - mentioned in other reports -&nbsp; that Kiev has used civilian planes flying over the region as cover for its military aircraft when carrying out strikes, a number of which have resulted in civilian casualties?<br /><br />In <a href="http://consortiumnews.com/2014/09/09/malaysia-airlines-whodunnit-still-a-mystery/">a recent article</a> - <i>Malaysian Airlines Whodunnit Still a Mystery</i> - investigative journalist Robert Parry points out another missing link in the Dutch report:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">The report is also silent on the “dog-not-barking” issue of whether the U.S. government had satellite surveillance that revealed exactly where the supposed ground-to-air missile was launched and who may have fired it.<br /><br />The Obama administration has asserted knowledge about those facts – initially pointing the finger at ethnic Russian rebels using a powerful Buk anti-aircraft missile system supposedly supplied by Russia – but the U.S. government has withheld satellite photos and other intelligence information that could presumably corroborate the charge.<br /><br />Curiously, too, the Dutch report, released on Tuesday, states that the investigation received “satellite imagery taken in the days after the occurrence.” Obviously, the more relevant images in assessing blame would be aerial photography in the days and hours before the crash that killed 298 people on the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.<br /><br />In mid-July, eastern Ukraine was a high priority for U.S. intelligence and a Buk missile battery is a large system that should have been easily picked up by U.S. aerial reconnaissance. The four missiles in a battery are each about 16-feet-long and would have to be hauled around by a truck and then put in position to fire.</blockquote><br />Parry also notes in his article that Russian satellite imagery purported to show "... Ukrainian government Buk missile systems north of the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk before the attack, including two batteries that purportedly were shifted 50 kilometers south of Donetsk on July 17, the day of the crash, and then removed by July 18." <br /><br />If the claims about the Ukrainian Buk systems are accurate it is safe to assume that the Americans have similar satellite images for the dates in question. So it seems curious that they have only released satellite images for days following the crash. The DSB report states that the investigation received “satellite imagery taken in the days after the occurrence.” <br /><br />Why would Ukrainian forces position their Buk missile systems in that location and at that time, when the east Ukraine self-defence militias they are fighting possess no air capability? The positioning of the Ukrainian Buks appears to have been for another purpose.<br /><br />The Dutch report doesn't take us far on the road of discovery. There remain many unanswered questions. Assurances by the DSB that the final report will be released before the first anniversary of the crash in 2015 suggests we are in for a long wait. When the final report is released memories of MH-17 will have receded and we may be looking at an entirely different state-of-affairs in the Ukraine. This may suit the agenda of those for whom the revelation of key information pertaining to the downing of MH-17 could prove to be politically compromising. http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/09/troubling-questions-about-mh-17-crash.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30117414.post-6783314964497476294Sun, 07 Sep 2014 03:40:00 +00002014-10-20T20:18:16.726-07:00AlaskaEstoniaimperialismJohn McCainMSMObamaRussiastereotypestsarsUnited StatesObama's Estonia claim that 'Russia trying to reclaim lands lost in the 19th century' bad history<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NDX28HsH6XQ/VA4M0t-bvkI/AAAAAAAAJW4/iKXrTTLDILw/s1600/ross_settlement_alaska.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Obama accuses Russia of imperial ambitions" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NDX28HsH6XQ/VA4M0t-bvkI/AAAAAAAAJW4/iKXrTTLDILw/s1600/ross_settlement_alaska.jpg" title="Obama gaffe about &quot;lost&quot; Russian lands in 19th century" /></a></div><br />Since the crisis in Ukraine began making headlines Russia has been cast as the villain with predictable stereotypes and misconceptions about things Russian showing up on MSM. From a Russian perspective a lot of it must seem clueless or outright offensive but such "insights" add to a tabloid narrative that gets very little critical scrutiny. The tendency to caricature Russia also shows up in the commentary of politicians in sometimes surprising ways.<br /><br />Obama and his speech writers could use some remedial assistance when it comes to Russian history. During a brief stop-over in Estonia en-route to the Wales summit Obama gave a keynote speech in which he made a historical gaffe that has come under criticism from Russia's foreign ministry and media. He informed his hosts that Russia is "reaching back to the days of the tsars, trying to reclaim lands lost in the 19th century -- this is surely not the way to secure Russia's greatness in the 21st century." <br /><br />The claim that Russia is 'reaching back to the days of the tsars' is more about political caricature than reality but adds to the propagandistic view of Russia's alleged "imperial" ambitions. The bit about Russia wanting to 'reclaim lands lost in the 19th century' is historically unconvincing and doesn't come close to supporting Obama's claims about "imperial" ambitions. <br /><br />Russia didn't actually give up any lands in the 19th century that amounted to a significant loss of territory. The voluntary sale of land is entirely different from "loss" of land. During the time period referred to by Obama the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Ross,_California">Russian Fort Ross settlement</a> in California was sold to a businessman for $30,000 and Alaska sold for $7.2 million - none of this is evidence of lost 'tsar-like' prestige. Russia's primary reason for selling Alaska was that it feared it might be seized by Britain in the case of a war. The move resulted in widespread mockery of US secretary of state at the time, William Seward, who Americans believed got the worst of the bargain - hence the reference to the purchase as "Seward's folly."<br /><br />When it comes to Russia's borders, as <a href="http://rt.com/news/185156-obama-alaska-russian-empire/">an RT article</a> makes clear - "Russia didn't in fact lose any lands on the Eurasian continent in the 19th century." The article includes two maps comparing the 19th and 20th century borders of Russia to make the point. <br /><br />Russians sensitivity to Obama's interpretation of their history isn't surprising given the current crisis. It also reflects a more general view of Americans-as-challenged when it comes to knowledge of the world beyond their borders. John McCain's <a href="http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2008/07/mccain-list-of-10-newsworthy-gaffes_26.html">long list of foreign policy gaffes</a> is an example of this tendency. http://www.drivebyplanet.com/2014/09/obamas-estonia-claim-that-russia-trying.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Jay Cables)